Attorney: 3rd death caused by Watson Grinding Explosion
HOUSTON - A third person has died following an explosion in northwest Houston.
The large explosion took place at Watson Grinding on January 24.
According to a Houston attorney, 47-year-old Gilberto Cruz died on February 5. The father of two had been sleeping at his home off Sunwood Drive when the nearby business exploded. Cruz was injured by debris the morning of the blast on January 24. The family’s attorney believes Cruz had good health before the explosion. However, after the business blew up, Cruz spent time in and out of the hospital.
So far, the medical examiner’s office has not determined Cruz’s official cause of death, or if there’s any relation to the blast.
“I don’t know what his medical issues were, but this has been very stressful,” said Denise Valporto De Sa, a neighbor. “I can see someone having a heart attack or something.”
Two workers at Watson Grinding were killed in the blast. Hundreds of buildings were damaged while roughly three dozen homes are now considered uninhabitable.
Many of Cruz’s neighbors tell us that the past two weeks have been very stressful.
On Friday, we met the McKeehan family visiting their damaged home off Stanford Court for the last time.
“Everyone is stressed,” said Rebecca McKeehan. “Two weeks of this. I have had so many sleepless nights.”