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FIU Unveils Statue Of Student Alexa Duran Who Died In Deadly Bridge Collapse 4 Years Ago

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Four years ago, the FIU bridge collapse killed six people. To mark this sad day, the university unveiled a statue to honor Alexa Duran, and the five other victims who died.

"I was at work and she see me working so many hours and she said mommy, I'm going to study to become a lawyer, I want you to get out of this hole, I want you to not work anymore," Gina Duran, Alexa's mom, told CBS4.

Alexa had many reasons to become a lawyer, her mom was one of them.

"She was beautiful, she had a big heart, she had support for everybody," her mom said.

But Alexa never got to make her dream a reality. She died four years ago when FIU''s new pedestrian bridge collapsed onto SW 8 Street.

"The doves, there's 18 of them, it represents each year of her life, she passed at 18 years old, and the dove is a powerful symbol of peace of the holy spirit," artist Brian Hanlon said.

The five pillars represent the other victims.

"We are waking up out of a bad dream, we were hoping that the dream that we are going to wake up and the results would have been different," Orlando Duran, Alexa's father, said.

The Durans have accepted that Alexa will never come back, though they shared her memory lives in their hearts forever.

"We want the future bridge to have safety considerations especially one that says the streets need to be closed to traffic and to people while the bridge is being put in place," Orlando Duran explained.

Alexa's father happens to be an engineer. He wants construction practices to change, potentially a reflection of the changes that Alexa might have pursued herself had her life not been cut short.

"Cause this statue should not be in vain, for my daughter and the other five victims," her mom added.

A plaque will also be placed on the bridge memorializing the victims once it is completed.

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