TOLEDO, Ohio — Friends and coworkers gathered Monday at the Toledo Jeep plant to honor 53-year-old Antonio Gaston who was killed in a workplace accident at the Jeep plant last week.
According to the Lucas County Coroner's Office, Gaston died from crushing injuries while working on the Jeep Gladiator line.
People crowded around one of the gate entrances to the plant, sharing memories about Gaston and what it was like working with him. The group then released red heart-shaped balloons and lit up lanterns at 4 p.m. in honor of his memory.
Tru Parham, one of Gaston's friends, said he set this up hoping it would bring in a few workers in between shifts but was surprised when more than expected showed up.
"Pleasantly surprised that this many people came out," Parham said. "I actually tagged congresswoman Marcy Kaptur in a post in the GoFundMe just to get more attention and she actually showed up here so that in itself speaks of value in his impact."
In addition to U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur (D, Toledo), Bruce Baumhower, the president of Local 12, and Tony Totty, the president of Local 14 with UAW, showed up as well.
Totty said this is a situation that he hopes no workers in the future will ever experience.
"We just had new hires today at GM and I told the story about Antonio and how he's not going home to his family," Totty said. "Our expectation for everyone we hire is that you go home the same way you show up and that's what every worker has a right to."
WTOL 11 reached out to OSHA Monday morning for updates on the investigation of what happened but was told it is still ongoing and could take up to six months before any findings are released.