MANTECA — Alejandro “Alex” Yepez was a loving father of three. The 37-year-old was also a beloved son and a military veteran who served four years in the Army and more than a year in the National Guard.
“He was silly. He always would be silly with them, said the mother of Alex’s children, Desiree Yepez.
Alejandro’s mother, Mary-Elena Mello says Alex will be missed.
“He was a happy person. He was very outgoing, caring, joyful. He brought me a lot of happiness. And he’s just… he’s gone way too soon,” she said.
Alex’s family says he died in a hospital on Memorial Day after being involved in a crash in Manteca on May 14th.
The family tells FOX40 they have almost no information about what happened.
“The only thing I do know is that he was hit by a vehicle. Was it a truck? Was it a car? I don’t even know that,” Mello said.
They say they didn’t even know Alex was in the hospital until May 25th.
Mello says she was worried when Alex didn’t return home on the 14th and began calling hospitals to find her son.
She says she called the emergency room at San Joaquin General Hospital on the 14th and was told he wasn’t there. But more than 10 days later, when Mello still hadn’t heard from him— she called again.
“I kept going to the house and checking to see if he’s arrived and there’s no sign in the house that he had been coming or going and then on the 25th I called the hospital but this time I called admittance and that was when they told me yes he was there and had been there since May 14th,” Mello explained.
Alex’s family rushed to be by his side; they were hopeful he would pull through.
“I was just happy to be there for that short time because I really didn’t think he was going to pass,” Mello said.
“We were fortunate enough to be able to speak with him and he was able to say his last words to us,” Desiree said.
But unfortunately, Alex went into cardiac arrest and died.
His family says they need to know what happened to Alex in order for them come to terms with his death.
“It’s the not knowing that’s hard to have, to accept the passing of a loved one,” Mello stated.
“We just want some closure,” Desiree said.
They’re asking anyone who may have information about an injury crash in Manteca on May 14th to please contact police so they can get the answers they so desperately want and need.
“We need that so we can be at peace,” Mello said.
“So, Alex can be at peace,” Desiree added.
Alex Yepez will be buried Thursday, June 6th at 10:30 a.m. at Saint Bernard’s Catholic Church in Tracy.
The family says all service members are welcome to come.
The family has also set up a GoFundMe page to help with the cost of giving Alex a full military burial.
FOX40 has reached out to Manteca police and the hospital where Alex died but has not heard back from either yet.
