A construction worker who died after being struck by an SUV driver while repairing New York City’s Washington Bridge would “pray every night” he would come home safe, according to his grieving wife.
Herb Henry Alesna, 41, was working on a closed lane of the bridge connecting Washington Heights with the Bronx when the driver struck a moving vehicle and then careened into Alesna about 10:20 p.m. August 2, police said.
Alesna died at the scene.
“They took away a man’s life who had a 1-year-old daughter,” Alesna’s widow Eva Gyorka told the Daily News, her voice breaking. “How do you go on with life not having him around?”
“He was my person,” she added. “He was my soul mate.”
Alesna, who was born in Malaybalay, Bukidnon, Philippines, moved to New York City with his family when he was 15. He grew up in Woodside, Queens.
“We are still in shock and disbelief that he was taken from us so sudden,” Gyorka said. “It’s been very tough to realize that he won’t be coming home and his daughter will grow up without her papa. It feels like I lost a part of me.”
After being laid off from his construction job during the COVID pandemic, Alesna started a new job with a private construction company the day after his daughter, Kaia, was born in March 2023.
Alesna was his family’s “anchor” and sole bread-winner, Gyorka told The News.
“He was patient, understanding, loving and often would go out of his way to make others feel comfortable and valued,” she said.
“His immediate wish was to have another child so Kaia wouldn’t have to grow up alone.”
That wish was shattered when the 35-year-old man driving a 2018 Dodge Durango traveling west in the right lane of the bridge attempted to change lanes and struck a 2015 Toyota Highlander in the left lane.
The Dodge driver then swerved back into the right lane — a section of which was closed for repairs — and crashed into Alesna, who was standing next to a parked construction truck.
Neither the driver of the Dodge nor the 36-year-old driver of the Toyota were hurt.
No charges have been filed and the investigation remains ongoing by the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad.
“There are questions that we need answered,” Gyorka said. “We are still trying to figure out how this tragedy even occurred. We had so many plans for our future and daughter that were ripped away from us. He was loved by everyone and the best papa a daughter could ever have.”
“There are questions that we need answered,” she added. “Were the right safety protocols in place with all the correct equipment?”