It was a time of calamity in South Florida. Less than a month after the Parkland mass shooting tragedy in 2018, a brand-new, still unopened pedestrian bridge linking the Florida International University campus to the neighborhood north of SW 8th Street collapsed.
Six people died that day, including one FIU student, Alexa Duran.
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Six years later, the university held a campus-wide moment of silence at 1:47 on Friday and then rang six bells to commemorate each victim.
Faculty, students and Alexa’s family gathered at the memorial statue of Alexa to reflect and remember. Her parents see a future stolen.
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“Well, it has not been easy, my thing is one day at a time, I cannot think about what happened in the past, I will go crazy,” said Gina Duran, Alexa’s mother.
“The wound is not bleeding anymore, but it still hurts a lot, and days like this are especially, especially sad when you consider what could have been,” added Rolando Duran, Alexa’s father.
With her sights set on law school, Alexa was a freshman who had just joined a sorority when tragedy struck.
“Very bright young lady, very active in the university community, so we are all deeply touched,” said FIU president Dr. Kenneth Jessell. “And every year after this, we will always remember the victims, especially Alexa.”
For parents who lose a child, the pain never ends, especially when they see other kids growing up and passing milestones.
“It hurts a lot, I feel like they took something away from me, I see all these kids graduating with their parents and I think, my daughter would’ve been here doing the same thing,” Gina Duran said.
“It’s hard, it’s hard and especially when you look at her classmates, who are in college, who are in graduate schools, makes me think my daughter would’ve been there with them,” Rolando Duran said.
The Durans say they greatly appreciate the turnout on Friday.
“Apparently people remember, and people will remember that on a day like this, six people died,” Rolando Duran said.
The dream of a pedestrian bridge over the busy SW 8th Street is still alive. Jessell says construction on a new span will begin within the next six months.
