MC's father works in construction; it's not implausible for some kind of accident to occur.
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And maybe this could have been some foreshadowing.
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Not literally something happening because that worker wasn't wearing his hardhat, but maybe something happening because of his irresponsibility, causing Neil to get harmed in the process of trying to help the guy. But Neil doesn't have to die, imo. He could just suffer an accident, not life threatening but enough to shake MC's life to the point where he would need the support of his new friends, and ofc the LI of choice.