In a gut-wrenching interview, the father of twenty-eight year old Andrea Castilla fought back tears as he not only remembered his daughter fondly, but explained that her boyfriend had picked this concert as the perfect place to ask for her hand in marriage.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1851693618179073&set=pcb.1851697144845387&type=3&theater
Of course, that proposal tragically never happened because a deranged monster opened fire on the crowd, killing at least 58.
The most powerful moment of the interview is when Andrea’s dad, Gus Castilla, fought back tears as he spoke of his daughter and the plans her boyfriend had for the concert.
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“If I could bring my daughter back, it would be for him, not for me,” he said, while clinging to some clothing she was wearing that night to help remember her by.
Andrea died trying to protect her sister, Athena, who told local news that Andrea had grabbed her hand in an attempt to move them to safety, and yelled “duck” just before getting hit. Her boyfriend, who had those very special plans in store, carried her towards safety.
Eventually a stranger used their vehicle to transport several wounded to the hospital. They’d love to track down this stranger and personally thank him for his efforts, but they never got his name. They’re hoping this story helps them locate that particular hero.
According to NBC New York, Andrea’s sister Athena says it was setting up to be a very special night:
“Being there in the moment was insanely beautiful,” Athena Castilla said. The victim was holding her sister’s hand as she was fatally struck while trying to protect her.
“She said, ‘Duck,’ and all of a sudden she was already hit,” Athena Castilla said.
The victim’s boyfriend, Derek Miller, and her sister carried Andrea outside the venue. They said a stranger in a dark truck rushed them to the hospital. Although they were unable to catch the good Samaritan’s name, they hope to find him and thank him some day.
Little to the victim’s knowledge, Miller planned to propose the evening of the concert. Miller shared his thwarted plans with the victim’s family as they waited at a hospital to hear word on her condition.
In the chaos that ensued, the hospital made an error, accidentally giving the family some false hope that Andrea may have survived.
It was at the hospital when they not only learned she died, but that her boyfriend was planning to propose that night.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1812318635449905&set=p.1812318635449905&type=3&theater
If you’d like to support her family and memorial fund, click below.
https://www.facebook.com/athena.castilla/posts/1916795325004417
Prayers for this family, as they were expecting to gain a new member into the family and ended up suffering the loss of one instead.