Mother Died Trying To Protect Children In 101 Freeway Collision

Los Angeles CA

22 August, 2021

6:07 PM

Description

LOS ANGELES, CA — According to detectives and prosecutors, 26-year-old Aimee Garcia is a victim of murder. The weapon was an SUV speeding down the 101 freeway on the wrong side of the road before colliding head-on into a big rig. Her final moments were ones of terror, her death a horrific crime that shocked the community. But to her loved ones and the four children riding in the backseat of the car that fateful night last week, she is a hero who died so her boys could live, a family member told Patch. Garcia's oldest son, Cesar, 8, was the only witness who could recollect what he saw that night. Angie Fuentes, Garcia's aunt, said Cesar was the most emotional of the children after he was pulled from the wreckage. Cesar told her that Garcia was scrapping to take control of the wheel up until the very last second, before the family's car made impact with a big rig driving in the opposite direction. The boy was treated in a nearby hospital for mild injuries along with his three younger brothers. "Mommy saved us, mommy saved us," he repeatedly said. "She's a hero to me," Fuentes said. "She loved them to death, to her last day she protected them." The incident unfolded Aug. 12 at 7:10 p.m. along the eastbound lanes of the 101 freeway near the San Diego (405) freeway, where Garcia was pronounced dead after the collision. Her boyfriend — 31-year-old Cesar Iban Torres — was taken into custody by California Highway Patrol officers, but not before he attempted to flee and resist arrest, officials said. Torres faces multiple charges, including murder, assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest, along with four counts each of attempted murder and child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. He is being held in lieu of $1 million bail and scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Van Nuys. Patch was unable to reach Torres for comment on the allegations. Fuentes called the death of her niece an act of domestic violence. Fuentes said she launched a GoFundMe campaign in order to raise money for Garcia's funeral expenses and to make the public aware of Garcia's history as a victim of domestic abuse at the hands of her long-time boyfriend. Garcia had just turned 26 before she died. Garcia leaves behind her four boys. Fuentes said her priority now is keeping the children together. However, to keep the children together, they would have to stay with Garcia's older brother Juan Zavala, she said. The 28-year-old said he wants to care for his nephews, but first he has to move out of the room he rents and find an apartment big enough for himself and the four young boys. If Zavala is unable to find an apartment soon, the family will have to give the children up to foster care. Garcia is survived by her four young boys (Courtesy of Angie Fuentes) "His whole life is changing around," Fuentes said of her nephew. "[But] we don't want the kids to be separated. Juan is the only person who can have them...I just want the kids to stay together, that's what their mother would have wanted." Thanks to the money raised from the GoFundMe account, financing an apartment is possible. Fuentes said that she's been searching for an apartment, however, she's received no return calls on prospective apartments and the search continues. Fuentes has long dreaded the day she would lose her niece. Garcia's relationship with Torres was a constant source of contention between Garcia and the rest of her family, said Fuentes. The couple met in high school when Garcia was 16. Fuentes tells Patch that her niece was a silent victim of domestic violence at the hands of Torres for many years. When her brothers or aunt confronted her about abuse in her relationship, Garcia would avoid the conversation or deflect entirely, said Fuentes. Fuentes recalled a time when things were so bad that Garcia had to go to a nearby hospital in LA to get stitches on her face. A report was never filed against Torres. "I remember...I told Aimee after she got out of the hospital, 'Aimee, I don't want to go identify your body one day. You have to get out of there. You have to get the kids out of this environment.'" Fuentes says abuse never went reported because Garcia was afraid that her children would be taken away from her by social services. Fuentes, who used to work at a battered and pregnant women's shelter, said she was able to secure shelter space to get Garcia away from her boyfriend. However, Garcia refused to leave with her children when shelter services came to pick them up. Garcia (left) stands with her four boys and her aunt, Brenda Valenzuela (middle), and her youngest brother, Jesse (Courtesy of Angie Fuentes) Fuentes remembers Garcia as a mother with unconditional love for her children. She admired Garcia for keeping her children with her constantly, even taking the four of them with her whenever she would do the family's laundry. "Despite that she had no parents present in her life, neither mom nor dad, she had four beautiful children that she protected and cared for unconditionally," Fuentes said. "She was an awesome mother, a great mother, the best mother I've ever met." Garcia's own mother was deported to Mexico when she was a baby, and her father abandoned her. Fuentes had known Garcia throughout her entire life and was there to support Garcia's mother through her birth. When Garcia had her own babies, she and Torres lived nearby, and it was a constant heartache watching her niece suffer for so many years, said Fuentes. Victims of domestic violence often don't realize that they're being abused unless they are being physically injured, and even then, it is unsurprising when victims struggle with vocalizing their experiences, said Cristina Deneve, a marriage and family therapist who provides counseling services to victims of domestic violence at Laura's House. An emergency shelter with locations throughout Orange County and beyond, Laura's House helps women escape their abusers and heal from the trauma. "People feel trapped," Deneve said. "They feel ashamed and they feel like there's no exit...a lot of the time, there is the family value. They want to keep the family together. It makes women put up with the abuse." Deneve said that Torres could have been using his control in the driver's seat to frighten Garcia and their children. Authorities did not comment on that allegation. Though so much remains in motion for this family, Fuentes remains strong in her faith and ultimately grateful for the outpouring of support her family has received from the Los Angeles community and worldwide. Almost $69,000 has been raised by donations to Fuentes's GoFundMe post, and every day she receives messages from around the world wishing the family the best. "Without that help — I wouldn't even have money. I would be washing cars right now to plan Aimee's services," she said. "I'm reading every message we receive. I want to thank every single one of them for helping us. Every single one of the prayers for the family, the children." Aimee Garcia had just turned 26 when she was fatally killed in a collision on the 101 freeway (Courtesy of Angie Fuentes) As Torres awaits his arraignment, Fuentes said she has no other desire for Torres other than for him to be held in a prison for the rest of his life. "I want him to deal with the consequences of his actions, killing my niece and leaving those kids without a mother," Fuentes said. "I want him to suffer for the rest of his life… He didn't even try to aid [his children] or my niece. That's something unforgivable." Today, however, Fuentes is focusing her energy on her niece's memory. "I cut her umbilical cord," Fuentes said tearfully. "And now I'm planning her funeral services. It's heartbreaking." READ MORE: Family Calls Fatal Wrong-Way 101 Freeway Crash Domestic Violence