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Beloved Ice Cream Factory Owner Dead After Roll-Down Gate Crushes Him

By  Trevor Kapp and Aidan Gardiner | September 19, 2014 9:20am 

 Alfredo Thiebaud, 79, died after a gate at his Melrose factory crushed him.
Beloved Ice Cream Factory Owner Dies
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MELROSE — The beloved 79-year-old founder of Delicioso Coco Helado, the famed Melrose ice cream maker, died after a roll-down gate at his factory crushed him Friday morning, officials and friends said.

Alfredo Thiebaud was opening up the factory at 849 St. Anns Ave., near East 161st Street, about 5:45 a.m. when he collapsed under the gate as it descended and pinned him, colleagues and police sources said.

He had brought up the gate when he opened the facility and was in the process of sweeping the front when he pushed the button to bring it back down, sources said. But then he collapsed beneath the gate and was killed, sources said.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. The medical examiner's office will determine his cause of death and what made him pass out.

"I saw the gate on his neck. His eyes were closed. There was no movement. His body was on the other side. I've never seen nothing like it. It was just horrible," said Samuel Rosas, 44, who first found Thiebaud and called 911.

People slowly gathered outside the ice cream factory Friday, forming a semi-circle around a bucket full of flowers and a collection of white candles. Many cried and hugged each other.

Someone had taped up a framed photo of Thiebaud shaking hands with Cardinal Edward Egan.

"He was the best person in the whole factory. He treated people fairly. He was the first person here every single day, even in the winter, and he was the last to go home at night," said Christian Adon, 25, a former colleague.

A police spokeswoman said that they are still investigating the incident, but it appears to be an accident.

Delicioso Coco Helado makes ice cream and distributes it to merchants who sell it from pushcarts all over the city, according to reports and the company's website.

Delicioso, which Thiebaud founded in 1978, has been dubbed "the Ben & Jerry's of the South Bronx," according to the New York Times. In 2009, 150 vendors rented pushcarts from the company, up from 130 the year before, the Times reported.

Thiebaud, the son of a fruit company executive, grew up in Tela, Honduras, and immigrated to the United States in 1960, with the help of a merchant mariner uncle who was living in Queens at the time, according to the Bronx Ink.

He used his ice cream company to help better his community, friends said.

"He loved seeing [people] get those carts, go out there and make a living. It's a heartbreaking day for us," said the head of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce, Lenny Caro.

Neighbors said Thiebaud was a tireless worker who was generous to others in the area.

"He was a good man. He helped everyone on the block. I'd help him clean his business. He'd give me a couple dollars. He liked working. This is just what he did," said Gustavo Cabrera, 57, who works across the street.

"Yesterday, I saw him working. Today I saw him with a white sheet on. This is a big loss for the whole Bronx," Cabrera added.

Thiebaud's wake was planned for Monday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Schuyler Funeral Home, 3535 E. Tremont Ave. with a funeral to follow the next day at St. Raymond's Church, 1759 Castle Hill Ave. The time had not yet been set Friday afternoon.