Arizona State University freshman Aiden Nevarez unexpectedly died over the weekend during a spring break trip to Mexico, multiple outlets reported.
Nevarez, 18, died on Sunday night, just hours after arriving at a Cabo San Lucas hotel where he and his friends were staying, according to NBC affiliateKPNX.
Four of his friends, two of whom were on the trip, said the accident happened at the Hotel Riu Santa Fe. The outlet reported that Nevarez fell over a short wall in front of palm trees and a 20-foot drop.
The Hotel Riu Santa Fe did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Aiden Nevarez.GoFundMe
One of his friends recalled Nevarez expressing profound gratitude for his life shortly before his death.
“Never in a million years did anyone who knew us or knew Aiden expect us to be sitting here right now,” Fitzgerald added while speaking with KPNX. “He was the most genuine kid that I knew. The biggest smile. He was so loved. Everybody loved Aiden.”
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AGoFundMepage has since been created in order to help bring the college student’s body back home to Arizona.
“As you can imagine, the horrific news of Aiden’s passing has been devastating to his family, friends and all who knew and loved Aiden,” a family friend wrote. “Aiden was only 18 years old and a freshman at Arizona State University. Aiden was a happy, charismatic young man that lit up any room he walked into.”
In just over 24 hours, the campaign surpassed its fundraising goal of $80,000.
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In 2021 Nevarez graduated from Pinnacle High School, where he was a member of the school’s wrestling team, per KPNX.
In amemorial poston their social media account, the team shared that the college student was on a trip with his fraternity at the time of his death.
source: people.com
