Family Mourns ‘Cool Uncle’ Killed in Hit-and-Run While Skating in Fallbrook – NBC 7 San Diego

A heartbroken Fallbrook family is searching for answers and justice after their baby brother was killed by a hit-and-run driver while skateboarding around the corner from his own home.

Two of Nathan Garcia's passions in life were being the "cool uncle" to his 1-year-old niece and skateboarding, according to his family.

“It was his stress relief. Something that helps him unwind," Nathan's older brother Uziel Garcia said.

After a day of church and a movie with friends, Nathan's siblings say the  21-year-old Home Depot employee went for a skate around 9:30 p.m. Sunday. He was stopped short of returning home safely by about 50 yards.

The CHP is now searching for the driver who hit him on E. View Street and Main Avenue. They're looking for a blue sedan, possibly a Honda Accord, with damage to the front windshield.

“I don’t see how that person can live with themselves, to do this to another person, just leave them on the side of the road like that with no regard," Uziel Garcia said. “You don’t just leave somebody on the side of the road like that and let them die like an animal.”

Uziel and other siblings say Nathan, the youngest of four, was their parents' favorite because of his humor and heart— especially the way he helped care for his mom.

“If she ever got up at night to go the restroom he would hold a flashlight to make sure she wouldn’t fall," his oldest sister Erika Lorca said.

“He was the light of the party, though he had to live with disabilities through his life," explained Uziel Garcia.

The Fallbrook High School graduate's light and love drove friends and family to come to his home and pay their respects Monday night. It's a sign of Nathan's impact on his community, according to his parents.

Just down the street from the gathering, skid marks show where neighbors say another driver lost control on the street and crashed into a neighbor's car several months ago.

"People drive like idiots down this road. Speed bumps are needed, or another stop sign at that hill," Uziel Garcia said.

Nathan's family and neighbors now hope his death is a call to action for local leaders to make the street safer.