The death toll from the UPS jet crash in Louisville, Kentucky, climbed to 15 after a man passed away from his injuries on Christmas Day.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg announced the news in a social media post on Thursday evening.
“It is with great sadness that I just learned Alain Rodriguez Colina has passed,” Greenberg wrote. “Alain is the 15th victim of the UPS Flight 2976 accident. He suffered severe injuries at the time of the crash and passed earlier this Christmas Day.”
“May Alain’s memory be a blessing,” Greenberg added.
Colina worked at Grade A Auto Parts, a business that lay in the path of destruction, according to USA Today.
“Alain is always greeting customers with a smile, while going above and beyond for each customer," the company’s website said in a tribute to him.
The crash took place at Kentucky's Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport on November 4.
UPS Flight 2976 — a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft — was departing Louisville and heading to Honolulu, Hawaii, when it crashed near the perimeter of the airport.
The jet’s left engine separated from the wing during takeoff before a burst of flames engulfed the plane, according to a report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The plane only made it about 30 feet into the air before it crashed, colliding with a storage yard and a pair of buildings, according to the NTSB.
Fourteen people, including the three crew members, died in the immediate aftermath of the collision, while several others were injured, authorities announced in November.
As a result, a class action lawsuit was filed against UPS and the businesses that manufactured the engine and plane, according to The Lexington Herald Leader.
“Alain fought hard,” his attorney, Masten Childers III said on Thursday. “(His) passing must be honored by holding those responsible for his death accountable. For now, please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.”
Scrapyard worker injured in UPS plane crash dies on Christmas, raising deaths to 15
Cloudy future for bourbon has Jim Beam closing Kentucky distillery for a year
Jim Beam shutting down bourbon production at Kentucky distillery amid Trump’s tariffs
Trump’s defense secretary warns ‘more strikes to come’ on Nigeria after targets hit
Southern California hit by deadly floods as atmospheric river storm strikes
Nation sees swath of restaurants close as high costs hammer businesses
