PHOENIX — Tire marks on the sidewalk, a scraped truck, and a giant hole that’s been boarded up in a bedroom are the signs of a crash that claimed an innocent life.
Jose Luis Martinez Aguirre, 66, was asleep in his bed when a car slammed into his bedroom near 31st and Southern avenues on Wednesday.
The loud noise of the impact woke up his family at around 1 a.m.
“We were sleeping,” David Perales, Aguirre’s son-in-law, told 12News. “We suddenly just felt the house shaking and we rushed down to see what happened.”
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Alexa Perales woke up after hearing her parents screaming.
“I’m like ‘What’s happening?’ and I went downstairs and saw my grandma crying and I realized the door to my grandpa's room was open and I looked in there and everything was flipped. His bed was flipped. I saw a car, everything was very traumatizing.”
Alexa Perales' grandfather was pinned under the car. He was taken to a hospital, but doctors couldn’t save him.
Phoenix police said 38-year-old Aaron Johns was driving east on Wayland Drive when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the grandfather’s first-floor bedroom.
Johns remained on the scene after the crash. He was later arrested on manslaughter charges.
Investigators determined impairment was a factor in the crash.
“He was a father, he was a great and lovely grandpa and a great person,” said Cynthia Cerecero, a relative. “Nothing will be the same without him.”
The family said, ‘Don Luis’ or ‘Pepe,’ as they lovingly called him, was a wise and joyful man. They said he worked hard, loved music, and a good tequila.
The 66-year-old was a father of two and left behind three grandchildren.
“He was nice, caring and I loved him a lot,” Alexa Perales said. “I will miss him a lot.”
The family had moved to the home where the crash happened about a year ago. They were hoping to expand their space but now have been forced to rebuild and plan a funeral.
Anyone who is interested in helping can donate here to a GoFundMe fundraiser the family created.