Events raise funds for family of man killed in fall from Trump hotel
Friends and co-workers of the man who fell to his death while washing the windows of Trump International on Wednesday described the father of two as a positive, loyal family man.
They held two car washes Saturday and Sunday to raise money for the funeral services of 27-year-old Jonathan Garcia.
Joel Morales was one of about 15 friends who washed and dried cars starting at 8 a.m. Sunday near Las Vegas Boulevard North and East Lake Mead Boulevard. About 40 people had shown up to help wash cars the day before, Morales said.
Morales, also 27, met Garcia in 2005 when they lived in the same apartment complex, Morales said Sunday morning. Garcia was born in Mexico but had lived in Las Vegas since he was a baby, Morales said.
“We grew up together in those apartments, went to high school together, graduated high school,” Morales said. “And the friendship kept on going.”
Morales and Garcia graduated in 2009 from Desert Pines High School. When he wasn’t at work or with his family, Garcia was playing soccer or at the gym, Morales said.
He struggled to find words to describe his friend.
“He’s hardworking. He’s a brother. He’s there for you whenever you need him,” Morales said. “Most important of all he was a family man. He worried about his daughters before everything and everybody. And that’s something I admire for him, a lot.”
Garcia was in a relationship with the mother of his two daughters, ages 2 and 6, Morales said.
Garcia’s co-workers at Red Rock Window Cleaning held a car wash near Lake Mead and Rainbow boulevards, in the Best Buy parking lot, starting at 9 a.m. Sunday.
“There was nothing negative about him. He was a fun, loving guy,” co-worker Carlise Diorio said. “We all loved him as a family. We lost one of our family members.”
Garcia’s three-year anniversary with the company would have been in January. More than 20 of Garcia’s co-workers stood in the Best Buy parking lot waiting for customers, and more stood on the corners with posters, waving cars toward the car wash.
“He was a kindhearted soul,” said Coby Powell, the owner of Red Rock Window Cleaning. “He came in the office and he was always happy and cheerful. Never a negative thing to say.”
Powell said his employees approached him about putting on the car wash. Everyone volunteering at the car wash — including some people making and selling tacos — were employees of the company.
“He was loved by every person here, from the top down,” Powell said.
Garcia fell Wednesday afternoon while washing exterior windows of the hotel, according to Las Vegas police. He died at University Medical Center, and his death was ruled an accident by the Clark County coroner’s office.
The Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration is conducting an investigation into the deadly fall. The agency has declined to release further details until the investigation is closed.
A GoFundMe campaign to help pay for funeral services and his daughters’ care had raised about $16,400 as of Sunday afternoon.
Contact Kimber Laux at klaux@reviewjournal.com. Follow @lauxkimber on Twitter.