ATLANTA — Mario Nava’s family says he would do anything for them. Over the weekend, they say the married father of four died while trying to protect them.
Nava’s daughter, Rachel Perez, 15, said the family returned home from church Sunday and found her father’s lifeless body in front of their home.
Nava had been killed in a freak accident while trying to cut down a large tree branch that had been hanging over the family’s home.
"When I saw him yesterday there, my heart broke into two pieces," Perez told Nefertiti Jaquez. "Every time I see my mom cry, it breaks my heart."
Nava’s wife, Olga Perez, told Jaquez she's devastated and feels as if she's lost a part of her heart.
She's also upset because she said the whole thing could have been prevented.
Olga Perez said she and her husband starting complaining about the tree in February. She said Nava even offered to help pay for it to be cut down.
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But when they took their complaints to the property manager, she said, they were told city officials had the final say.
Jaquez went to the property manager, with whom they filed their complaints on Monday.
“He was really concerned about the tree and I showed him it was a healthy tree,” the property manager told Jaquez.
Soon after, the property owner called Jaquez to clarify they had done everything they could and had shown Nava a city document dated March 8, showing the tree was denied cutting.
“So when someone complains about the possibility of a tree endangering their house, or their family, our only recourse is to get in touch with the city and ask the city for permission to cut the tree. And in this case we did and the city denied our request,” the property manager told Jaquez.
Cox Media Group
