Now and again, Maria Reyes would hop on a bus in West L.A. and take an almost two-hour trip to South Los Angeles to go to her greatest buddy.
About 4 months in the past, her buddy began dwelling inside a blue Ford SUV that he parked on East 102nd Avenue, simply off Avalon Boulevard. There, the 2 would move the day speaking and laughing.
At house, Reyes nervous about him. He used a wheelchair to get round and after contracting COVID twice — falling right into a coma every time — he wanted a coronary heart transplant.
However she discovered consolation in understanding a community of household and buddies would verify on him. And neighbors, a lot of them Latinos, had grown keen on him due to his joyful, form and respectful persona. A few of them, they mentioned, would name him tio — uncle.
So it was a gross shock to everybody on East 102nd Avenue to be taught that somebody had set fireplace to his SUV as he slept inside on Sunday. Authorities mentioned the person suffered third-degree burns and died just a few hours later at an area hospital.
Brian Humphrey, spokesman for the Los Angeles Fireplace Division, mentioned the fireplace was reported at 1:39 a.m. Sunday. Firefighters arriving on the scene got here throughout a automobile engulfed in flames.
Video footage of the fireplace confirmed firefighters dousing the flames and the physique of an individual on the entrance of a parking zone of a small buying plaza.
Los Angeles Police Division detectives imagine somebody intentionally set the automobile on fireplace and are trying to find the individual or individuals concerned.
Coroner’s officers haven’t recognized the sufferer, however Reyes and others who knew the person mentioned his identify was Clay Buchanan. He was two weeks from celebrating his fiftieth birthday.
In a telephone interview Monday, Reyes sobbed as she spoke about her longtime buddy.
“He didn’t should die like that,” she mentioned. “He was a good-hearted man.”
She mentioned Buchanan had simply returned from Riverside County, the place he had been staying with a niece. She mentioned he needed to be nearer to family and friends and that he had bought the SUV whereas ready to get housing.
“He tried to do issues on his personal,” Reyes. “He didn’t prefer to be a burden to individuals.”
Earlier that Monday, residents dropped off flowers and lit candles by a pole signal positioned toes from the area the place Buchanan had parked. The bottom the place the automobile was had been blackened by the fireplace, and scorched gadgets laid scattered.
Taped to the pole was a printout of a photograph of Buchanan with a brief message that learn:
“My brother, we love you and we’ll all the time miss you, however we’ll always remember you. Say hello and provides your momma an enormous hug from us. Love a lot brother.”
Studying the message was Miguel Carrillo, 45, a resident of the neighborhood. Carillo had stopped by the memorial to mild a candle after buying at a grocery store throughout the road.
“He was such a pleasant individual,” he mentioned. “He would all the time greet me in Spanish and ask how I used to be doing.”
Carillo mentioned he by no means bought to know the person’s identify however pointed to some candles that had “Clay” written on them. He mentioned the person was heavyset and couldn’t transfer round a lot. He mentioned many individuals within the neighborhood had grown keen on him and would typically give him meals and water.
Helen Toribio, 38, one other neighbor who stopped by the memorial, mentioned the person had solely moved into the neighborhood some 4 months in the past. She mentioned she would all the time see him in his SUV or typically in a wheelchair.
Toribio mentioned she was at house sleeping when a neighbor known as her and advised her a close-by automobile had caught fireplace. Toribio ran out to verify on her automotive and noticed Buchanan’s SUV in flames.
“I noticed firefighters pulling him out of the automobile,” she mentioned. “I assumed maybe he was OK, however we have been driving by and noticed the memorial and discovered he had died. It’s so unhappy.”
Close by, Pancho Mercado, 55, a homeless man, slowly crossed the road to the memorial web site and commenced sobbing.
“They burned him,” he mentioned. “He was like household to us. He would all the time give us one thing to eat and drink.”
Mercado used his shirt to wipe tears from his face.
“This actually damage me,” he mentioned, pounding his chest. ”He would inform us in Spanish, ‘I like you guys.’”
A number of neighbors and Reyes mentioned just a few days earlier than his automotive was torched, somebody had damaged his home windows after an argument. They surprise now if that very same individual had something to do with Buchanan’s loss of life.
In one other telephone interview, Maria Reyes’ sister, Monica, 31, mentioned she feels devastated by his loss of life and indignant over the way during which he died.
“That was his protected spot as a result of all people knew him there,” she mentioned.
Monica Reyes mentioned Buchanan had hassle strolling after contracting COVID in 2021. She mentioned he was a person who seen life with pleasure regardless of the hardships he confronted, together with not having a house of his personal and dropping his mom 20 years in the past. When he was 16, she mentioned, he had survived being shot 10 occasions.
“This man was like a brother to me,” she mentioned. “I’m glad I bought to satisfy Clay for the period of time that I did.”
Each sisters described Buchanan as a sensible, beneficiant man and an enormous jokester.
Maria Reyes mentioned the final time she noticed him was two weeks in the past. She additionally bought a telephone name from him on Friday, not lengthy earlier than his automobile could be set on fireplace. She mentioned they advised one another they liked each other.
“We’re going to overlook the heck out of him,” she mentioned.
