GREELEY, Colo. — A Greeley family is grieving the loss of a man who was found dead following last Tuesday's big hailstorm.
Family members told Denver7 Joseph Carrisales, 48, had been hanging out with a group of people at a friend's house, on the 800 block of 24th Street, just a few blocks away from his home that night.
“He was sitting on the tailgate of a truck and it started raining and they went inside and they thought he was going home, he didn’t make it that far because they found him on the side of the truck by the mud," said his sister, Irene Carrisales.
"When they called me, I said 'How did he die?' — they said 'The storm,'" said his mother, Domitila Carrisales.
The Weld County Coroner's office said it is still investigating the circumstances surrounding Joseph's death and could not confirm if it was a direct result of the storm.
"It’s just unreal, so unreal," added Irene. "It puts a lot of thoughts in your head, like... I hope he didn’t suffer. So I have to pray that he didn’t."
Joseph's mother and sister said he struggled with several health issues, including head injuries and weak legs.
They told Denver7 Tuesday they also heard he had been complaining to his friends about a headache earlier that day.
"We’re not sure if he had an aneurysm burst or something," added his sister, Irene. "He was weak too, his legs were weak, I’m wondering if that made him fall and he couldn’t get up."
Joseph's family said they're hoping to find out exactly what happened that night — to help give them a little bit of closure.
“Everybody loved him because he had such a kind heart but then he’d make fun of you, like he’d make fun of everyone but he was so funny,that you couldn’t help but to laugh. We knew he was struggling with a lot of things but he still loved us and we loved him," added Irene.
His family is now left waiting for the autopsy report to come back, which will take about six-to-eight weeks.
They have launched a fundraiser to help pay for his funeral.
