The family of 24-year-old Samuel “Sammy” Rodriguez is dealing with heartbreak days after a tragic four-vehicle crash on I-95 in Palm Beach County claimed the Marine veteran’s life.

“Heartbroken,” said his granddaughter Alexis Guzman. “Devastated because there is so much I could have told her about.”

Guzman says Rodriguez was born and raised in West Palm Beach, and she grew up with him. After Rodriguez graduated from Forest Hill High School, where he participated in the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) program, he served as a Marine veteran for four years based in Okinawa, Japan.

“She was the strongest person I knew and the biggest person I looked up to,” Guzman said. “He had to serve our country and this is a great opportunity.”

The Rodriguez family hopes he will be remembered for that and more. He is said to have enjoyed reading, watching anime and spending time with loved ones.

“Full of life and wherever he went, he always had a big smile on his face,” Guzman said.

The Florida Highway Patrol reports that Rodriguez was sitting next to his car in the center lane when another vehicle struck him. Guzman believes his vehicle may have malfunctioned and Rodriguez was looking for a safe place.

His brother, Oscar Rodriguez Jr., remembers the moment he learned of the tragedy.

“I didn’t believe it. No, no, not my little brother, no,” Rodriguez said. “He was on his way to my house to get another job and I was waiting for him.”

Guzman found out about being out of town and adds that coming home was the hardest part.

“He won’t be in the same place we last saw him,” Guzman said. “Who was sitting on the couch, laughing, playing his video games. It was the hardest I’ve ever been through.”

WPTV reporter Zitlali Solache asked Guzman how he would move forward after something like this.

“Right now, I don’t feel like I’m ready to move forward, but I know that with the help of everyone in my family, I feel like there’s a possibility one day,” Guzman said.

The family says signs of Sammy are already present in their lives.

“He has front seats in our lives for the rest of our lives until we meet again,” Rodriguez said. “Everything we go through, everything we will go through in our future feels like his. the presence will continue to be felt.”

The family started a GoFundMe to ease funeral expenses. Meanwhile, they are looking for a funeral home to lay Sammy to rest on his birthday, November 18th.

Content for Scripps 2024 only