HONOLULU (AP) — Brigham Young College offensive lineman Sione Veikoso was killed in a building accident in his hometown in Hawaii, family associates said.
Veikoso, 22, died Friday after a retaining wall he was encouraging repair for the duration of vacation split from school collapsed, his loved ones confirmed. The Honolulu Hearth Department documented that a few some others were being injured when the 15-foot (4.5-meter) rock wall partially fell at the rear of a house in Kailua, which is about 12 miles (19 kilometers) northeast of Honolulu.
“He was a mild big who cherished his family. He was trusted and caring,” Veikoso’s cousin Joshua Kava stated in a penned statement to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
The 6-foot-7 (2-meter), 305-pound (138-kilogram) lineman had done his initially year at BYU, where by he transferred right after just one calendar year at Arizona Point out, whilst retaining four years of eligibility.
Firefighters arrived at the house just ahead of midday Friday to obtain the collapsed wall and bystanders using a smaller excavator to get rid of rocks trapping the men. Rescuers known as them off mainly because of the wall’s instability and manually taken off rocks to free of charge two of the gentlemen in about 15 minutes. But Veikoso was trapped further. He was taken out at about 12:30 p.m. and was pronounced dead at the scene at 1:35 p.m.
The property owner informed authorities she was owning the stone wall fixed. A total of 6 people were being at the scene. Just one gentleman escaped the rubble right before firefighters arrived but refused treatment and two had been unhurt.
“Rest in Appreciate Sione. God be with you until we meet up with once again,” BYU football mentioned in a tweet.
Immediately after substantial faculty, Veikoso expended two yrs as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Working day Saints in Manaus, Brazil, prior to enrolling in college.