Mom of 5 dies after falling off party bus while celebrating her 30th birthday

A California mom of five died over the weekend after falling from a party bus while celebrating her 30th birthday with family and friends. 

Heather Garcia, 29, had been out celebrating her birthday with friends in California on Saturday when she died, according to a GoFundMe page for her family. She was two days shy of turning 30. 

Family members who spoke to the KABC said Garcia had been dancing on the party bus when she tripped and fell out of the vehicle’s door and onto the freeway.

According to KABC, Garcia was then hit by a moving vehicle. The driver stayed at the scene of the incident and cooperated with the police.

California Highway Patrol officers raced to northbound 101 Freeway and Los Angeles Street at about 3 a.m. after they were alerted to a crash, ABC affiliate KABC report

Garcia is survived by her husband, army veteran Rafael Corral, and her five children aged 10, 8, 6, 5 and 1.

Corral told KABC: “It’s just something that is a nightmare…that doesn’t happen. It should not happen.”

Garcia’s sister Jellue Jaramillo told the network: “She was a great soul and she was somebody that you can count on. A great mother. Definitely a great sister.”

Following Garcia’s death, a GoFundMe page was set up to help the family with funeral costs as well as money for the family.

On the page, Corral said of his late wife: “She was out celebrating her birthday with some friends and family, she would have turned 30 years old on January 31st.

“What I thought would be a fun night out for her turned into a tragic ending for us. She was the life of the party, always up for a good time. She had a huge heart, always lending a hand to anyone who needed it.

“She was a great mom, always taking care of our children. She loved our kids and she lived to take care of us. She was my best friend, my rock, she kept it together for me and our kids. I feel lost without her.