Family mourning loss of father after deadly Fresno County crash

SANGER, Calif. (KFSN) -- At the bottom of a lone, charred tree sits a bouquet of vibrant-colored flowers.

A memorial for a man who, family members say, could bring a smile to anyone's face.

Alejandra Bardales says she feels her husband Martin's presence inside their home as she and their four kids grieve his loss.

"I've just been trying so hard to keep the emotions down," Martin Hernandez Jr. says. "It's been like hard to keep them down, and at times is like, at small moments they come out."

The family says Martin got off work early on the morning of June 14 and was heading home to Sanger.

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Less than five miles from his house is where he was killed.

The CHP says around 3 a.m., Martin was driving east on Highway 180, just west of Bethel Avenue.

Another car was speeding and rear-ended Martin's van which skidded off the highway and hit a tree, bursting into flames.

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Alejandra says she started calling her husband around 10 a.m., when he hadn't arrived home at his usual time.

It was later in the day when they got the call that he was gone.

Since then the family's been reminiscing about their patriarch.

His love for the song "Hotel California."

The non-stop jokes he'd make.

His caring and selfless nature and his outgoing personality.

Their home once full of laughter now silent.

"My little brother has Down syndrome so it's going to be very hard for him to understand what's going on," Martin Hernandez Jr. says. "My brother as well -- he's trying to be strong. He's currently at work trying to provide for the House, which I'm trying to as well. My sister...she is torn up for sure."

The family has set up a GoFundMe for Martin's funeral expenses and other financial responsibilities.

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