A grieving family in Arizona say a father was crushed to death under the family car while trying to fix it, and instead of helping him, passersby robbed him.
Police said Jeronimo Garcia Guerra may have been pinned under his car in a Phoenix parking lot for hours after the jack collapsed before someone called 911.
According to the family, by the time police arrived on the scene, the thieves had stolen everything from Guerra’s pockets, ransacked the car he was working on and stole the vehicle he was traveling in.
“My dad always believed that there was no one out there who could help you, and in this situation he was right,” his son, Jerry Garcia Jr., said. He told AZFamily.
After his wife’s car broke down, Guerra drove his daughter Monica Garcia’s car back to the parking lot where it was parked and attempted to fix the broken-down vehicle.
He arrived at the scene at about 9:45 a.m. and police were called around noon, his girlfriend Monica told the TV station.
“Nobody knows when the car actually fell on him,” Monica said. “Nobody knows how long he was there.”
The horrific incident happened less than two miles from her home.
“After it was all over, I saw them check my dad’s pockets and my mum’s car and then they took my car and left,” she said.
Monica lashed out at witnesses who either saw a car collapse on top of her father or decided to steal after her father was locked up.
“It’s hard because I would never do that to anyone else. I don’t care about my car, but I wish they could have at least stayed there with him until help arrived,” she said through tears.
“Until someone said, ‘Oh, he’s not moving,’ you’d at least know he wasn’t alone all day.”
Her car was later found abandoned not far from the scene, but Monica says it had nothing to do with the robbery.
“He’s someone’s father, someone’s husband, a grandparent, someone’s best friend. He’s someone I care about, and I don’t have that person anymore because someone can’t stop and check in,” she said.
Police have not yet made any arrests but the investigation is ongoing.
