‘A heart of gold’: Family, friends mourn loss of Sam Garcia Jr., 25, of Easthampton
Casey White leads the pallbearers at Sam Garcia’s funeral to Our Lady Of the Valley for the service on Tuesday, December 22, 2020. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS
Casey White leads the pallbearers at Sam Garcia’s funeral to Our Lady Of the Valley Church in Easthampton for the service on Tuesday. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS
Casey White leads the pallbearers at Sam Garcia’s funeral to Our Lady Of the Valley for the service on Tuesday, December 22, 2020. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS
Sam Garcia, right, of Easthampton, drives to the basket against Brett Malikowski, of Hampshire Regional, at Hampshire, in February 2014. GAZETTE FILE PHOTO/JERREY ROBERTS
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The victim in a fatal, one-car crash has been identified by the family - He was a hard-working Pioneer Valley bartender and star athlete.
The crash happened on Wednesday, Dec. 16, on Southampton Road in Holyoke.
The victim was Samuel “Sammy” Garcia, Jr., 25, of Easthampton, according to his obituary.
Garcia was a star athlete in high school and worked at popular bars and restaurants in the Pioneer Valley.
The accident happened on Wednesday during the height of a snowstorm that left parts of Western Massachusetts covered in more than a foot of snow. Garcia’s car apparently slid off the road near 188 Southampton Road and down an embankment into a group of trees, according to Masslive.