Family and close friends of a young man who was killed in a car accident in Naples are heartbroken and wanting to honor his memory.
Twenty-year-old Christian Gomez was pushing his Chevy Tahoe from behind while his friend was steering it on Tamiami Trail near Treviso Bay Monday night when he was hit by a car and killed.
The man steering the car as well as the driver of the other car were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Christian Gomez's best friend Tucker Bileau said some of his favorite memories are from senior year of high school when the two would shoot hoops.
"We used to always play basketball in the afternoon, and he was really good and I wasn't. We'd always just play, and I hate playing basketball but I used to do it because he loved it, and that's what friends do. We used to just go play all that time. And I've been thinking a lot about that today," Bileau told Four in Your Corner's Lisa Greenberg.
He said Gomez was like a brother to him, and they talked every single day.
Bileau said he is glad he was able to see Gomez when he came to his house just two days ago.
"He went to work and it was just like, 'I'll see you later, man!' You know, and didn't think anything of it. You never do. You never do," he said.
On a GoFundMe page set up to help with funeral expenses, Gomez's sister wrote "My little brother has always been my first love," and "I don't wish this pain on anyone."
Bileau said he wants to help the family of a man who helped him through his hardest times.
"I joined the marines about two and a half years ago. I was at boot camp, and boot camp's hard, and he sent me letters and tried to help me as much as he can. It's a tough time," he said.
Bileau is now facing the tough time of losing his best friend, and as a way of keeping Gomez close, he's getting a tattoo in his honor.
"Right over the heart. Just never forget him, that's the biggest thing. Never forget him as a person. Wherever he is out there, if he's listening, I want him to know that he meant the world to me. I will never forget him the rest of my life," Bileau said.
To donate to Gomez's celebration of life, visit this link: https://www.gofundme.com/c2fvpzdm
