A mother of five was killed early Saturday morning on the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles when she fell from a party bus and was struck by an oncoming vehicle.
Heather Garcia, 29, was celebrating her 30th birthday in a party bus when she tripped dancing and fell out of the bus, CBS LA reported. An oncoming vehicle struck and killed Garcia after she landed in the third lane of the northbound 101 Freeway, the outlet reported. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Garcia’s brother told the outlet that the door opened when Garcia slammed into it.
“I don’t know how the door opened. Nobody knows how the door opened. The door shouldn’t have opened up,” he said, according to CBS LA.
Do Not Cross tape is displayed at the scene of a major motor vehicle collision
Rafael Corral, Garcia’s husband and an army veteran, reportedly called his wife his “best friend” and his “rock.”
“She was my best friend, my rock, she kept it together for me and our kids,” Corral said, according to ABC 7 Los Angeles. (RELATED: Tire Flies Off 18-Wheeler, Killing Tulane Student in Freak Accident)
Other family members, such as Garcia’s brother, sister and father, are mourning the loss. “She was a great soul, and she was somebody that you can count on … A great mother … definitely a great sister,” said Garcia’s sister, Jellue Jaramillo, according to ABC 7 Los Angeles.
Corral has set up a fundraiser in Garcia’s honor with donations covering the cost of her burial and raising their children.
The driver of the vehicle that fatally hit Garcia stayed on the scene, and as of Sunday night, no charges have been filed, CBS LA reported.
Garcia would have turned 30 on Monday, the outlet noted.