MODESTO, Calif. — A Modesto driveway and street where neighbors would regularly see an 18-year-old cleaning and detailing cars has become a place for his memorial after he and his mother died in a house fire.
Marco Garcia, known to the neighborhood as "Chato," and his mother, Maria Cabera Contreras, died in a house fire near El Sereno Street on Wednesday morning.
Five people, including two children, were inside the home as the fire spread through the structure.
Family friends said Contreras initially escaped the home safely but noticed her son didn't make it out before she tried to run back inside to save him.
Garcia recently graduated from high school and would work 12-hour days on his car-detailing business. Contreras was a street vendor and sold a variety of snacks at the nearby park.
Friends of the victims are holding a car wash at 1917 El Sereno Street to benefit the family Saturday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
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