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A city of Bryan employee died Tuesday, a day after he was thrown from the "cherry picker bucket" he was using to repair a traffic signal.
Alex Constancio was tipped out of a bucket about 25 feet above ground on Texas 21 at the corner of Harvey Mitchell Parkway when the top of a Sanderson Farms truck hit the bottom of his bucket.
Linda Constancio said Tuesday that her husband was full of plans for the future.
The 50-year-old dreamed of retiring in two years to travel across the U.S. with his wife.
"He talked about being a grandfather and about walking our girls down the aisle," she said. "We were looking forward to retiring. He wanted to go west."
Constancio died just before noon at St. Joseph Regional Health Center in Bryan.
Police said the driver of the truck was traveling west in the outside lane of Texas 21 behind a van that braked suddenly at the traffic light.
The truck, which was carrying live chickens, pulled into the inside lane to avoid hitting the van and struck Constancio's bucket, according to police.
No citations have been issued. Bryan police Assistant Chief Peter Scheets said the investigation was in progress.
Sanderson Farms Chief Financial Officer Mike Cockrell said the Mississippi-based company was investigating the incident as well.
"This is very, very difficult for us," he said. "We are very, very sorry for the city of Bryan and the gentleman's family and everyone involved."
Cockrell said the driver had been driving trucks for the local plant for four years.
Linda and Alex Constancio had planned to renew their vows at their 25th anniversary ceremony next year. His wife said they had already reserved a church and venue for the event.
"He was a very loving husband," she said. "He told me he loved me every night. ... That's what I'm going to miss most about him."
Linda Constancio said Alex Constancio made time for their two daughters, Jessica, 21, and Erica, 11, each day.
She said her husband battled testicular cancer after their first daughter was born and thought they wouldn't be able to have any more children.
When Erica was born, she said, they considered themselves lucky.
"She was like a miracle to us," Linda Constancio said.
Bryan City Manager David Watkins said Tuesday that Constancio was a role model to his co-workers.
"He was an excellent employee, a good leader who lived by example," he said. "He will be sorely missed."
Watkins said crowds of people visited Constancio, who graduated from Bryan High School 30 years ago, while he was at the hospital.
"It was staggering," he said.
Constancio began as a traffic technician and rose to become a transportation supervisor.
His supervisor, Alton Rogers, declined to comment but e-mailed a statement Tuesday.
"Alex is the heart and soul of the Transportation Department and he will be greatly missed by all of the staff that considered him their friend," Rogers wrote. "We have lost a tremendously dedicated employee, and we have lost an even better friend."
Services for Alex Constancio are pending with Memorial Funeral Chapel in Bryan.
Alex Constancio also played the bajo sexto, a 12-string guitar used as a rhythm instrument, in a local Tejano band that he formed in 2002.
Grupo Laredo was set to play at the Texas Reds Steak and Grape Festival this month.
He used to practice for hours every day, his wife said, adding that she would often tell him "that's enough" when she was tired of hearing his guitar.
"Now that he's gone, I'm really going to miss the noise," she said.
• Janet Phelps' e-mail address is janet.phelps@theeagle.com.
