After an 11-year-old boy on life support following a mobile home fire in Escondido died on Friday, his family must face the emotional ordeal of organizing funeral services.
There were two children killed in the fire last week including the boy's 5-year-old niece who was the youngest victim. Diego left behind a twin brother who survived the fire.
Neighbors told NBC 7 they were hopeful the little boy would recover. Diego Florez went to Del Dios School, loved soccer and participated in cub scouts. Eleven family members were granted emergency visas to fly in from Mexico and attend the funeral.
A makeshift memorial showed a pink angel for Ellie on one side and a blue angel on the other for Diego to grieve their loss. A GoFundMe page raised $56,325 to help the Flores family after the fire. However, a neighbor of the family told NBC 7 that the account has since been frozen until it's confirmed as a legitimate donation site for the victims.
The family's next door neighbor Christina Zazueta has been gathering cards and donations for the grieving family. Along with cards, some neighbors have stopped by to shed a few tears and mourn.
"You can't help but do kind things for them because they were such a delight to have around and really I was very lucky to be their neighbor," Zazueta told NBC 7.
In the meantime, anyone who would like to ensure that their donation reaches the victims can stop by the JPMorgan Chase bank and donate to the account number 3615771972, which was set up by the family's neighbors.
Amid their grief, the family has thanked the community for the outpouring of support they've received throughout this ordeal.
A family spokesperson told NBC 7 on Friday that they would donate the organs of their son, Diego, after he was declared brain dead and surviving on life support.
California
Diego was caught in the fire sparked by a Christmas tree in a mobile home in San Diego's North County in the early morning. There were nine people in the home when the flames ignited.
The mobile home lacked smoke detectors or a fire alarm, which could have limited the fire's destruction, according to investigators.
Survivors of the fire didn't suffer any major injuries, and were all released from the hospital after they were treated for smoke inhalation.
