MESA, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) - It’s been two years since a hit-and-run driver killed a 21-year-old marine on the U.S. 60 near Higley Road.On Nov. 16, 2018, at around 4:30 a.m., Josh Garcia was driving to work when he dozed off at the wheel. The flatbed truck carrying construction equipment rolled over. Garcia was lying in the middle of the intersection–badly injured, but fighting–when two good Samaritans stopped to help. They tried to create a barrier around him, but then another vehicle–a dark-colored SUV–drove through the crash site, hitting and ultimately killing Garcia. According to one of the good Samaritans, the SUV pulled over for a brief moment and watched the chaos unfold. He noticed three to four people inside the vehicle. However, they left the scene after about five minutes.“I can’t say that it’s getting easier because it’s really not. I’m trying very hard to find forgiveness, that accepting an apology without an apology,” said Leanora Garcia, Josh’s sister. “It’s just so hard because it’s not something simple. It’s a life. It was my brother.”
Leonora only visits that part of the Valley to touch up Josh’s memorial. This year, they added a QR code for people to scan, bringing them to articles about Josh.“I figured people like to get their information really quick and they’re not going to read the flyer that I had before unless they were walking possibly,” Leonora explained. “People can understand more of what happened and I think a really important piece to me was getting people to understand my brother was alive and fighting for his life before this driver came.”
Now, two years later, without any answers, Leonora knows she is solely relying on the community.Ad By The Home Depot “If there’s any sense of humanity in those people, even if it’s just one of the passengers, I have confidence that they will tell someone someday and that will be the beginning to figuring out what happened that morning,” Leonora said.Leonora says she’s always been hopeful someone will come forward.
“We were hoping they would find the courage to come forward because I know what happened that morning could not have been easy. It was traumatic and scary,” she said. “I’m sorry this is something you’re holding onto and I’m sorry you had to be apart of what happened that morning. But the bottom line is, you were apart of it. And it hurts my family. We’re waiting to hear from you guys. We’re trying to give you the space and the room and it’s just so hard.“The Department of Public Safety said their detectives have followed up on “multiple leads” but have not been successful in locating the vehicle or driver involved.
“The last tip that I know of that came in was a couple months after the accident had happened,” Leonora said.
There is a $1,000 reward through Silent Witness for anyone with information that leads to an arrest. The SUV is described as a black or dark blue 2001-2006 GMC Yukon or Chevrolet Tahoe with damage to the right front end and undercarriage.