Family remembers Santaquin man, left with ‘last gift’ after tragic accident

SANTAQUIN, Utah — The family of a Santaquin man described an unexpected gift they received after he tragically died over the weekend in an accident that critically injured his mother.

Jonathan Rogriguez’s family has been together nonstop since the accident Saturday, processing his death and trying to support his mother Sonia Rodriguez’s recovery.

When asked about Jonathan and what he was like, laughs broke out as people like Stewart Barcenas shared stories. Barcenas is Jonathan’s brother-in-law — married to the sister of Jonathan’s wife, Daisy.

Stewart said Jonathan tended to bring out the wild side in others, which could include crazy dancing or other fun shenanigans. He chuckled while saying that if Jonathan was asked what he was like, he’d likely present “a cool, suave, flirtatious gentleman.”

Analee Rodriguez, Jonathan’s sister, started to laugh at that thought. She described Jonathan as outgoing and full of happiness.

“He walks in, you see that smile, and you know it’s going to be a party,” she said.

Videos showed Jonathan’s upbeat energy, from dancing in the backyard to music as he does yard work, to keeping the crowd pumped up as a DJ at venues and clubs.

Known in the local music community as “DJ Jonny Hype,” his family described the 23-year-old as a true hype man to his two boys and his entire family.

Jonathan worked a full-time job in addition to DJ’ing, and bought a home for his wife and children.

His uncle, Leonel Fimbres, said Jonathan was truly the DJ for them while working on projects. A video showed Fimbres in the backyard helping Jonathan with landscaping, clearly beat and sitting down while Jonathan danced to keep Fimbres’ spirits up.

“Whether working on a car or working in his house, he had the music playing, keep us going,” Fimbres said.

Jonathan and his mother Sonia were doing just that on Saturday — finishing the yard for his children to play in this summer.

A truck parked in the yard accidentally got into gear and moved, killing Jonathan and critically injuring Sonia.

Jonathan’s brother Renzo Rodriguez is still in shock.

“It’s hard to believe it. I was there,” he said. “It’s hard to believe something so tragic happened to him.”

Renzo was planning to help Jonathan build a sandbox for his two boys. The family had camping trips and events planned this summer. Instead, they’re coping with his loss, while staying by Sonia’s side in the hospital.

Known as the mama bear of the entire family who is always the one taking care of everyone else, they explained how she’s the one who now needs help and support.

The family isn’t sure what Sonia’s recovery will look like.

“She currently doesn’t know what happened to my brother, due to the complications that she’s had,” Analee said.

They’re waiting to tell her what happened.

“It’s just going to break her heart even more knowing that one of her kids is gone,” Analee said, getting choked up as she spoke. Fimbres put his hand on her shoulder in comfort.

Right after losing Jonathan, on Saturday evening, his wife Daisy ended up in the ER with health issues. That’s when everyone learned what Jonathan truly left behind.

“One of those tests came back that she was pregnant, and she didn’t know, and Jonathan didn’t know either,” Stewart said.

A GoFundMe* page has been started to help with Jonathan’s funeral costs, Sonia’s medical costs, and for Jonathan’s future child.

As they grieve the person they loved and lost, and remember Jonathan’s life, his family still has reason to smile as they look forward.

“This news, it’s hard to know how to take it,” Stewart said. “But I like to say, it’s Jonathan’s last gift to his wife and to his kids before he left. Among all the bad news, I think this was the one good.”

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