COLUMBUS, Ohio — Nearly one week after 16-year-old Felix Estrada was killed in an ATV crash in Columbus, his family is working to raise enough money to cover his funeral costs.
"It's not the same. It's very different. No matter what we do, it's always going to be that piece missing,” Alicia Spurlock, one of Felix’s sisters, said.
Spurlock and Estrada's brother Justin Nichols are still processing what happened to their little brother. They said they still don’t know many details about the crash.
"The dude that was driving came to pick my little brother up, said he needed his help. Next thing we know, [we’re] getting a phone call that he's in the hospital,” Nichols said.
According to a police report, a man driving a Volkswagen Golf was traveling along South Fourth Street when another man driving an ATV emerged from an alley, crashing into the passenger side of the car. Estrada was a passenger in the ATV.
All three of the people involved were taken to nearby hospitals, but Estrada did not survive.
"It's not even like I'm sad, it's like I'm hurt. It's just like my body feels hurt every day,” Nichols said.
Now, his family is focusing on their positive memories of their little brother.
"If you go into the store and he has a dollar, you're both going to get 50-cent cakes, like that's just the type of mentality Felix was,” Nichols said.
"If you were having a bad day he would make you laugh no matter how bad your day was,” Spurlock said.
They’re also working to keep that memory alive every day.
"I just got this tattoo yesterday. Every single morning this is gonna be the first thing I look down at is memory of my little brother,” Nichols said.
"Every time we look at the wall, it's gonna be a picture of him. Necklaces everywhere, keychains, we're not gonna let him be forgotten,” Spurlock said.
They’re also touched by the support they’ve received from the community to be able to properly lay their brother to rest.
"Even a couple dollars, two dollars, 50 cents, that money adds up. Anything helps man, literally anything,” Nichols said.
"I never thought it was going to be honestly this many people coming in from the main road just coming in, walking in, buying plates. It does mean a lot,” Spurlock said.
Estrada’s family said the funeral is scheduled for Wednesday.
Click here for a link to his obituary and a place to donate to funeral costs.