An Arizona State University freshman crashed from a height of 20 feet while on spring break in Mexico when he climbed over a low wall that had a hard fall on the other side.
Aiden Nevarez, 18, crashed early on March 7 at the Riu Santa Fe Hotel in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
The place where Nevarez fell is described by his friends as a low pony wall. Palm trees, like low shrubs, covered the other side of the wall, hiding a 20-foot drop.
“It looks like it’s just a bush or a bush, and there’s a little wall that’s about knee high,” Aiden’s friend Jake Ratinger, 19, who was with him in Cape, told KTVK/KPHO.
But the greenery was not shrubs, but the tops of palm trees, and the freshman fell to the ground 20 feet below. It is unclear how Nevares climbed over the wall and why he tried to climb it.
Aiden Nevares, 18, crashed early on March 7 at the Riu Santa Fe Hotel in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
The place where Nevarez fell is described by his friends as a low pony wall. Palm trees, like low bushes, covered the other side of the wall, hiding a 20-foot drop.
But his death was ruled an accident, according to his death certificate. The certificate does not indicate whether drugs or alcohol were in his system.
His heartbroken parents told the Arizona Republic that they thought changes needed to be made, such as better signage or a taller wall, in light of their son’s sudden death in an accident.
“This can’t happen to anyone else – it’s completely pointless,” said Saira Nevares, his mother.
Nevares was a former Pinnacle High School wrestler who graduated in 2021 and is currently a freshman at ASU studying business.
His friends describe him as someone who lit up every room he entered, always with a positive attitude and a smile.
His friend Jack Fitzgerald, 19, who was also in Cabo with him, told The Arizona Republic they landed around noon on Sunday and spent the day hanging out on the beach and exploring the area.
They were at the restaurant around midnight, he told The Republic, when “out of nowhere” Nevares hugged him and told him he loved him, to which he reciprocated.
“It was a special moment,” Fitzgerald said.
Aiden Nevares and Jack Fitzgerald
A group of friends were dropped off by a taxi driver around 2am. It wasn’t until a few hours later that Fitzgerald said he had received word that his best friend had gone missing.
“I fell right to my knees in my room and just couldn’t believe it,” Fitzgerald said. “It was the worst time of my life and it really remains.”
His parents, Saira and Matias Nevares, said they received a call from the consulate hours after the tragedy.
“You can’t breathe, you can’t process anything, you don’t feel like anything is real,” Saira Nevares told The Arizona Republic on Saturday. “Everything stops – your life stops right here.”
They said their son has big plans for life and a “very, very bright future,” adding that he majored in financial planning and is particularly interested in helping young people understand finance.
“We love him so much and will miss him until we see him again,” she said. “I know wherever he is right now he’s going to win because that’s how Aiden was.”
As of Monday, over $100,000 has been raised through GoFundMe.
His mother said it was “so touching” to see how much her son touched the lives of others, adding that he was and still is a “bright, bright light”.
The proceeds will go towards the cost of bringing his body home from Mexico and help with final preparations.
Spring break travel is already in full swing for many, with Florida and Fort Lauderdale gearing up for “triple” visitor numbers compared to last year as tens of thousands of students prepare to celebrate the first COVID-free US spring break. .
Residents of popular holiday destinations including Cancun, Miami, Pensacola, Fort Lauderdale and South Padre Island have to deal with endless crowds of college students who are having a good time, often playing loud music and drinking alcohol from the first week of March until April.
Many popular spring break destinations are expected to increase at least two to three times this year from March to April as resorts, nightclubs and other businesses hope to regain time lost in the past two years due to the pandemic. coronavirus pandemic. Pictured: a crowded beach in Miami on Friday. None of the people depicted were involved in the drug incident.
The suspect, who is believed to be connected to a group of vacationers who overdosed on cocaine mixed with fentanyl, has been identified as 21-year-old Axel Giovani Kasseus.
Last week, six West Point cadets were hospitalized after overdosing on fentanyl cocaine.
Axel Giovani Kasseus, 21, from Lauderhill, near Fort Lauderdale, was arrested Friday night in Wilton Manors, Florida on suspicion of selling cocaine to an undercover officer. It is believed to be associated with an overdose.
According to The Sun-Sentinel, he has been charged with one count of trafficking in less than 200 grams of cocaine and is being held at Broward Main Prison on $50,000 bail.
Authorities allege that Kasseus sold 43 grams of cocaine on Friday to an undercover detective who followed him to a hotel, according to WPLG.
A seventh person, identified only as a woman, was later taken to the hospital and also received treatment, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
It is unclear if she suffered an overdose or what condition she is in. It is also unknown if she visited West Point with other patients.
contacted the US Army Academy at West Point and a spokesman said the prestigious military college was “aware” of an incident in Florida involving its students.
“The US Military Academy is aware of the West Point cadet situation that occurred Thursday night in Wilton Manors, Florida,” a West Point spokesman said in an email. “The incident is currently under investigation and no other details are available at this time.”