The family of 24-year-old Samuel ‘Sammy’ Rodriguez is grappling with heartbreak after the Marine veteran was killed in a tragic four-vehicle crash on I-95 in Palm Beach County.

“He’s heartbroken,” said his nephew Alexis Guzman. “I was devastated because there was so much more I could have told him.”

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

“He was the strongest person I have ever known and the greatest person I looked up to,” Guzman said. “He had the opportunity to serve our country, and it’s a great opportunity.”

The Rodriguez family hopes he will be remembered for this and so much more. They say that he loves reading, watching anime and spending time with his loved ones.

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

The Florida Highway Patrol reported that Rodriguez was standing next to his car in the center lane when another vehicle struck him. Guzman believes his vehicle may not have started and that 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,” said Rodriguez. “He was going home to find another job and I was waiting for him.”

Guzman learned this while he was out of town, adding that returning home was the hardest part.

“It won’t be where I last saw him,” Guzman said. “He was sitting on the couch, laughing, playing video games. This was the hardest thing we’ve ever had to go through.”

WPTV Reporter Zitlali Solache asked Guzman how he can move forward after something like this.

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

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

“He’s at the forefront of our lives for the rest of our lives, until we meet again,” Rodriguez said. “I feel like everything we’ve been through, everything we’ll experience in our future, his presence will still be felt.”

The family made a start GoFundMe To facilitate funeral expenses. Meanwhile, they are looking for a funeral home to bury Sammy on his birthday, November 18th.

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