Haiti Quake Claims 10 In Florida Man's Family

MIAMI -- On Jan. 12, seven members of Irene Jules' family lost their lives in the earthquake in Haiti. But that was just the beginning.

“I try to forget about what happened over there, but deep in my mind -- every five or six seconds -- I’m picturing it in front of me. It’s like I can't forget what took place,” Jules told Miami TV station WPLG.

Six days after the quake, Jules bought two bus tickets for his aunt and cousin to get out of Port-au-Prince. They never made it.

“The bus had an accident and it went downhill. Everybody died,” Jules said..

When Jules’ aunt in Miami heard the news of the crash, she suffered a fatal heart attack, making her the 10th family member to die in less than one month.

Jules said he couldn’t bear watching his fellow Haitians in such a grim situation.

“It’s tough when you’re watching on TV. They’re showing you your own family picked up by front loaders and put into Dumpsters. They drop them into the deep holes with no tags, no pictures, nothing whatsoever. That’s killing me inside,” Jules said.

Jules scrambled together $4,000 to pay for the funerals of the family members who died in Haiti. Since the quake, he has only taken two days off from work. He said he’s strapped for cash and wants to save enough money to go to Haiti.

His company, Central Medical, has started collecting donations to send Jules to Haiti.

“Were praying for him and his family. We’ve been doing it all along, hoping that it passes quickly and that we can help him in any way that we can," Central Medical COO Mari Pedraja Garcia said.

Jules isn’t sure what to do next but keep working.

“My mom won’t stop crying, I keep telling her everything is going to be OK. It’s going to be OK,” he said.