Las Vegas family of man killed in carjacking receives donated van

By Web Staff

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    LAS VEGAS (KVVU) — It has now been more than a week since Jerry Lopez, a father of seven children, was shot and killed during the carjacking of his family’s passenger van.

There is a long road ahead for widowed mother Karen Lopez, but now she can hit the road with her seven children thanks to the gift of a 2016 passenger van from Findlay Automotive in Las Vegas.

“It is not often that we would have this van in inventory,” said Tyler Corder, Findlay Automotive Group. “It just so happened that here at Findlay Accura, this van was in our inventory. It looked like it would work perfect for the family and so we decided, ‘Hey, this is the thing we need to do.’”

Karen Lopez said that the previous situation was a “huge burden” because she was unable to get her children where they needed to go.

“I can’t transport my children anywhere, to an appointment, to the grocery story, anything,” she said before the donation. The gift also included car seats for all of the kids that need them.

The family’s old van was totaled during the ordeal and it is still being held as evidence in the investigation.

“For two years we drove two separate cars around because we couldn’t fit all the kids in the vehicle, so that was like freedom to us,” she said of their first van.

Jerry Lopez had learned about a work promotion just before his death. He proudly brought home his brand new business cards and was killed just minutes away from the family’s residence as he headed in for a shift.

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