Man dead after car fell on top of him, police say
PHOENIX - A man is dead after a car fell on top of him at a Phoenix business.
The incident happened on June 17 near 23rd Avenue and Thomas Road.
Phoenix Police say officers responded to the scene and were told by firefighters that a man appeared to be underneath a car that was jacked up when the vehicle fell on top of him.
The man is identified as Jeronimo Garcia Guerra.
'He was there for me’
As you can imagine, the victim's daughter is going through a lot after losing her father.
She saw her dad on Monday morning when the car he was working on broke down.
"I'm a mess. I'm a mess," Monica Garica, his daughter, said.
Her 70-year-old dad was found dead underneath his wife's broken-down car.
"He was a great provider, a great grandpa, a great dad. Anything that I ever needed, he was there for me, and now he's not anymore," she said.
Monica saw her dad hours before his death because her mom called asking to pick them up after her car broke down.
"She's like, 'I need you to come pick me up, I'm stranded with your dad,'" Monica recalled.
Hours later, Phoenix Police got a call about someone dead in the parking lot.
"When I got here, they told me that he was pronounced dead at the scene," Monica said.
Someone found her father dead under the car, Monica said, and did not try to help. Instead, they stole from him.
"I guess they went through my dad's pockets while he was on the floor, deceased. They went through the car, and then they stole my car and nobody helped," she said.
Phoenix Police say the Arizona license plate of the stolen vehicle is 8NA8RF.
"My car is a black cherry 2006 Nissan Maxima. It has my name, money and number two in the middle of the windshield and an 85 on the on the windshield for my year," she said.
After what happened, Monica can only hope her father is resting in peace.
"Next time something like this happens to somebody else, I hope the public helps," she said. "I hope somebody helps."
You can help the family by donating to a GoFundMe they set up.
Nearby employee recalls incident
Surveillance video of where the crash happened was captured from across the street.
Before the crash, two people are seen walking around the car in the morning. Then, around 12:05 p.m., is when police officers and firefighters got there.
Surveillance video of the accident was covered by a delivery truck.
"I want to say after I got my Coke delivery, that's when an officer came in, asked if I noticed anything and I said ‘no’ because our truck was in the way," said Nic Peters from Aa's Corner Mart.