Father dies saving 2-year-old daughter from oncoming driver

DENVER (KDVR) — A man from Denver risked his life to save his 2-year-old daughter from being hit by an oncoming car.

The family of Alonso Garcia says he pushed his daughter Liz out of harm's way before he was struck by a driver on the evening of Dec. 7. He was transported to a hospital and died shortly after he was released.

"He loved her very much. He did everything for her. Even sacrificing his own life for her," said Karla Alanis, Garcia's sister. "Alonso took his daughter out to get something to eat, and they were on foot. He took her in a stroller. They were walking across the crosswalk when a car came on head-on and hit Alonso."

'It's hard for me to accept he's gone'

In that split second, Alanis said her brother made a quick decision.

“[He] decided to throw the stroller to push Liz, his daughter, out the way before getting ran over," she said.

Alanis told Nexstar's KDVR she rushed to the scene, where she performed CPR on her brother.

"It's hard for me to accept he’s gone," she said.

Garcia was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for multiple injuries

"He had a fractured ankle in four places, a broken elbow, broken ribs, torn ACL and a fracture in his head," Alanis said.

Garcia was treated and released, with another surgery scheduled for a few days later, "but he didn’t get to make it to the surgery," Alanis said.

Garcia stopped breathing while recuperating at home. Family members attempted CPR, but Garcia would "ultimately succumb to his injuries," his family wrote in a GoFundMe fundraiser launched to help cover his funeral costs.

Now, his 2-year-old daughter Liz wonders when her dad will come home.

“She looks for him in every corner. We try to show her pictures to let her know he is still here, but gone," Alanis said. “You see every family who is celebrating Christmas and enjoying this time with their families, and we're missing a part of our own.”

Police cited the at-fault driver for careless driving resulting in injury and no proof of insurance. The case is under investigation.