Man falls from building years after father suffers similar fate

by Lyf Compton

For one Largo Heights family, the saying ‘Like father, like son’ means death and possibly a curse.

On Tuesday, sometime after 11 a.m., Danley “Buddy” Alexander, also known as “Ghost”, a 27-year-old construction worker, fell from a building at North River Road.

Reports are that Danley was assisting with the installation of a window on the unfinished building when he lost his balance and fell. He was rushed to the MCMH, where he died.

What is eerie about the accident is that Danley’s father, 49 at the time, died under similar circumstances on May 3, 2012, at Paul’s Avenue. Cecil Michael Baisden, a well-known man in Kingstown, was painting a building when he slipped and fell about 100 feet to his death.

Randy Alexander, Danley’s brother, said on Wednesday that he felt “real bad” about the way his brother died and described losing his brother and father the same way as a “curse”.

“I can’t do nothing, it done happen, but I feel bad. I feel that is a curse too, because that happen the same how; it happen a few feet apart, something wrong,” said Randy.

The bereaved man said that he and his brother were close and he last spoke to him the morning he died.

Another of Danley’s brothers, Alex Romano Alexander described his brother as a “good and hard-working person, who love to make joke.”

Alex said that Danley had been involved in construction for a while now and was working with Murray Bullock at the time of his death.

“The situation sad and thing, but you have to hold on, hold the faith,” said Alex, who revealed that Danley had no children.

He said he last spoke to his brother on Monday night and they were very close, as they lived together and were children of the same mother and father.

“The situation sad, but you have to hold the faith; it done happen, the Almighty know best,” said the labourer, who also finds it strange that his father and brother died the same way.

Danley’s cousin, Lyndon Franklyn, said that they grew up together and when the news came of his cousin’s death, it was very unexpected.

“Man couldn’t catch themselves; it come like when the news come, we all come to a standstill and everybody taking it on,” said Lyndon.

“It is a real loss because the man was a good man, real irie. He set up an ital shop and we use to lime. Come like when I get the news I can’t focus; man couldn’t even cry, is only now I analysing the situation and shed a little tear, because I know he won’t be around to lime because we use to live loving,” explained the Largo Heights man.

He said that Danely was a good soccer player who played as a defender for a team from the area.

The accident brings to the fore the question of the enforcement of occupational safety standards, especially on construction sites.