Our Buick brother Special_350 ON V8BUICK (juan Vidal) lost his life on friday. Juan was working on one of his last shifts at jack in the box in El monte Ca. when a masked gunmen entered the store jumped the counter and put a gun to the cashiers head. She just turned 18 and it was her first day on the job at her very first job. Juan pushed her out of the way because she was having trouble opening the cash register. The gunmen shot him twice in the chest and hit him in the heart. Juan died of the gun shot wounds his co worker survived. Juan died a hero. Juan started working for me at Carhex right around the time he joined this page. He came over after answering a craigslist add and fell in love with all the parts I had for his car. He was not a rich kid he came from a poor household. He was willing to work for parts at a time when I needed lots of help. He took cars apart helped me package parts ship parts pick up cars clean the yard swapmeets and even helped me with customers. He helped me step away for a bit and enjoy my family more. he even broke a few parts. Juan turned into a great friend. The kind of friend you could call at 4am because the HEI distributor took a dump and you needed a ride out of the woods. I talked to him into going on hunting trips with me untill one time we killed a deer and he was a bit upset about it. But he helped me drag the deer about 4 miles out of the woods. I had the chance to enjoy a few passes down irwindale drag strip. We built a few cars together just for fun. we had lots of good lunches together and dinners. He had a 69 Skylark special. we dropped in a 455 th400 and 8.5 10 bolt with front disc and a quick ratio power steering box. We never did work out all the bugs but his car was cool. we did cool car buddy stuff together. when I bought my house it was a mess. Juan was here for weeks helping me clean things up chop trees down and drink lots of beer. Juan was an adopted kid. his mom gave him to his aunt as a baby to raise because she had some issues. He lived with his mom and her boyfriend and his son. in a small 2 bedroom house. He called his step dads mother his grandma and would always tend to his families needs. (he would call in sick allot) He would spend his last dollar just to make sure his family had what they needed to get by. Juan would give you his last dollar if you needed it. Juan was always setting goals. I feel bad because some of his goals I thought were not realistic but he showed me and completed most. Juan was a go lucky kid. that was always welcomed in our home. even after he did not work for me. He was a dreamer. life was not always good to him but he always had a positive out look. He would flake from time to time but his intentions were always good. things were looking up for Juan. He had just completed his school to become a pharmacy tech. He had bought himself a new car. He was engaged. I'm heart broken for him and his family. The world lost a good man. Very few people are like him. The way he died is very tragic. He died a hero and I believe he got a one way first class flight into heaven. He will be missed by his family and hundreds of friends. Here is a link to his Gofund me account. https://www.gofundme.com/2vh4f5w the goal was meet already but if you can chip in. His family lived off of his support and it would be cool if his mom had enough money to pay off his car and not have to worry about his payment. If you are local his other friends are having a car wash for him next saturday. I am having a pot luck? car show fund raiser. next sunday at the VFW post in west covina. 2328 W Merced Ave, West Covina, CA 91790. i would love it if any of you local to the area could come and support. I know Juan would have loved it. If you guys can next time you get in the car. Rev the engine a bit and if you can a nice burn out in his honor. Please keep his family in prayer and his friends that feel the pain of his loss. His co workers and even the coward that did this to him. Our Father in heaven will deal with him. RIP JUAN VIDAL YOU WILL BE MISSED BROTHER. THANK YOU FOR SHARING PART OF YOUR LIFE WITH ME BRENDA AND THE KIDS. THANK YOU FOR BEING A TRUE FRIEND. HECTOR CARRILLO CARHEX
That was a heart felt eulogy (relatable) and a reminder that there are still everyday heros all around us.
/\/\ Perfectly stated. You, Hector, were a great influence in Juan's life. He learned to be a true blue friend from You, Sir.
I am sorry for your loss Hector. Your words honor your friend, and convey that you also greatly enrinched Juan's life. The world needs more men like you and Juan. May his familiy and friends find comfort in his memory of how he lived, and that he chose to lay down his life for another.
He had it in him already. The guy never quit trying to gain knowledge and find ways to better himself. I just guided him on a few things. Hector
What a tragic incident and loss. Hector your mentoring and guidance is rare and wonderful. My thoughts are with you, yours and Juan's family. Happy to help with a donation.
Wow I am so incredibly sorry Hector. So sorry. I will never understand how even a sick person can place such little value on human life. Again I am very sorry.
A big thank you for all the kind words. Losing a friend is never easy. Thank you for all the donations to his gofund me page. Hector
it dose brother. It would be cool if you could make it to his car show this sunday in west covina Hector
So sorry to learn your friend has lost his life so tragically. From your description and the news story, he was a hero for his actions. May he forever Rest in Peace.