Heartbreaking.
A mum of five has sadly passed away after she tripped and fell out of a bus, only days before her 30th birthday.
Heather Garcia fell out of the party bus onto the motorway in downtown LA when she was then fatally struck by another car.
The incident occurred on the northbound 101 Freeway at around 3am on Saturday.
Family members have said that people on the bus were out celebrating Heather’s birthday and her niece’s birthday when tragedy struck, with Heather turning 30 on Monday.
Only hours before the incident, Heather was pictured smiling alongside her friends while enjoying a live band and blowing out the candles on her birthday cake.
Heather’s brother told KCBS: “They went out, got the party bus and based on the information I got, she was dancing and she fell … and that was it.”
Her brother added that when Heather tripped, she slammed into the bus door which opened and caused her to fall to the road.
The car passing then ran over her and she was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver waited for authorities to arrive on the scene and is said to have co-operated with the police.
Heather’s family are not looking into pursuing legal action and have been left devastated and heartbroken.
Heather’s brother said: “I don’t know how the door opened. Nobody knows how the door opened.
“The door shouldn’t have opened up.”
Heather is survived by her husband Rafael Corral, and their five children, ages one, five, six, eight and 10 years old.
Speaking to ABC 7 Los Angeles, Rafael said that his wife and the others on the bus did the right thing by hiring the bus to take them home from their night out rather than drinking and driving but it still managed to cost Heather her life.
“I’ve seen some crazy, horrific things in Iraq, and to see it happen to your family… it shouldn’t have happened,” Corral said.
A GoFundMe has been set up to give Heather the “burial she deserves”, with thousands already raised.
In a heartbreaking tribute left on the page, Rafael wrote: “She had a huge heart always lending a hand to anyone who needed it.
“She was a great mom always taking care of our children. She loved our kids and she lived to take care of us. She was my best friend, my rock, she kept it together for me and our kids.
“I feel lost without her. We had so many plans and now I am left with so many questions and an extremely broken heart.”
