Alan Garcia was driving home with his two children, when something got the better of him: his anger. In an instant, Alan lost his daughter when he yelled an expletive at the wrong man — a man far angrier than him.
There's no arguing: the Garcia family did not deserve or even earn this tragedy by shouting at a stranger on the road. Now, the family is urging drivers everywhere to keep their cool.
Road rage is real and police officers are fed up with it, just ask Officer Graham Williamson. You never know who that other driver is, you never know what they are going to do. A little innocent venting can turn into a irreparable tragedy.
The DMV recommends venting your frustrations on the road properly by waiting until you get home: "Talk to a friend or family member about the driving experience — telling the story can relieve your stress."
See how the drive home from school turned into the Garcia family's worst nightmare below.
Alan Garcia was driving home from school with his daughter, 4-year-old Lilly, and son, 7-year-old Isaac, when tragedy struck. When Alan tried to exit the highway to go to the grocery store, a car crossed two lanes and blocked him.
Venting his frustrations, Alan yelled an insult to the other driver. Then the man, later identified as Tony D. Torrez, pulled his car up beside Alan's window and yelled something. Alan quickly sped up to get away, that's when he heard two shots.
"She's bleeding," Isaac told his father. Lilly had been fatally shot in the head. Many of us have at some point yelled expletives on the road without truly meaning ill will to the person, but road rage is real and it takes real lives.
The shooter later confessed killing Lilly to an acquaintance, who anonymously tipped off the police. Currently, 32-year-old Tony D. Torrez is being charged with Lilly's murder.
Alan lost his cool, and because he didn't expect a reaction like that — nor did he deserve one — his daughter lost her life. As the Garcia family mourns the loss of their little girl, they urge drivers everywhere to just breathe with the bumper stickers they have created to turn Lilly's tragedy into something positive.
See this family's heartbreaking plea below.
Please SHARE the Garcias' message to end road rage and to just breathe to prevent another tragedy from happening!
