A San Diego family is mourning the loss of their son and brother, Matthew Lara, after he unexpectedly died in a motorcycle crash in Phoenix on Wednesday night.
“When I think of him, I think about how much he talked about how he wanted to be a good father and that was just something that was the most important thing to him,” Christina Ly, his sister, told NBC 7.
Ly shared that while she and Lara grew up in San Diego, he moved to Phoenix about three years ago to take care of their grandmother.
“He was riding his motorcycle down a regular street with businesses and shopping centers,” Ly said.
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She explained that he was riding behind a line of cars and when a driver went to make a left turn into one of the businesses, they collided.
“The detectives think he passed on impact, so we’re grateful to know he didn’t suffer at all,” Ly said.
Only hours after the crash happened, Lara was supposed to fly to pick up his son in Michigan. Then, they were going to fly together to San Diego for the holidays to spend it with Ly and their mom.
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“[His son] was telling all of his classmates and his teacher how excited he was to come to California,” Ly said. “So, that was something his mom had to talk to their son about. We’re trying to help him make sense about what happened, and he doesn’t understand yet.”
Ly said she and Lara went to the San Diego School of Performing Arts together for high school. Lara was there since sixth grade and loved music.
“Matthew was in the jazz band. He played guitar, he played trumpet, he was in a mariachi band in San Diego for a few years,” Ly said.
He also loved being outdoors and hiked all over Arizona. Ly added, “he couldn’t wait to share in all of the adventures that the world had to offer [his son] after he grew up.”
Now, his family is left to figure out a way to give him a proper burial.
“I couldn’t have imagined how much it costs to bring somebody home and for the funeral costs, and just the way that insurance works it could be months before we see anything to help us afford anything,” Ly said.
But, she said, it is worth every penny to have Lara close.
“We loved San Diego, I don’t know,” Ly said. “We just want him to come home.”
