2-Year-Old Boy Orphaned After Father Is Killed in Crash Day After Christmas

A 2-year-old boy has become an orphan after his father was killed in a car accident over the Christmas holiday. The boy's mother had taken her own life 15 months earlier, relatives said.

“It’s hard enough to explain where mom was. Now it’s hard to explain where daddy’s at,” John Trujillo, the boy's uncle, told KMPH-TV. 

The child was traveling with his father, Andrew Trujillo, 27, in an area near California’s Yosemite National Park. Relatives said they were enjoying the recent snowfall. As they were driving back home, their car veered off the road and struck a tree. Trujillo suffered fatal injuries from the crash, and died, The Fresno Bee reported.

Trujillo's girlfriend and three children, including his son, Drew, had been in the car. They were transported to a local hospital with minor injuries, police said told The Bee.

Family members said they believe snow and ice on the road may have contributed to the crash that killed Trujillo, ABC-affiliate KFSN reported. 

A GoFundMe called “Baby Drew Secure Future Fund" has been created on Drew’s behalf.

Susannah Stone, the organizer of the fundraiser, said that Drew’s father, Andrew, worked as a paramedic in the California mountain town of Mariposa. His late wife, Stacey, had become pregnant with their second child, a girl, she said, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stacey took her life in her third trimester, according to Stone. 

“Stacey shockingly took her own life. Little Drew’s baby sister could not be saved. Dad Andrew could not find it in himself to return to paramedic service after being unable to save Stacey the night he discovered what she had done,” Stone said. 

“Dad and son began rebuilding their lives without Stacey," she continued. "Baby Drew struggled a long time with the loss of his mom. Too young to understand his feelings of loss, but able to feel the pain of them. Alone in the world, baby Drew needs help. His father needs to be buried. He needs help to continue on without his parents. His basic needs and hope for the future,” she wrote. 

 As of Friday, GoFundMe had raised nearly $87,000.

The family has been grateful for all the support and compassion they have seen. Drew is now in the care of his grandparents.

“Even though we don't understand sometimes, what happens in life, we have to accept it and be able to do the best we can to fill that void in that child's life,” John Trujillo said. “We're doing our very best.”

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