BATON ROUGE — What was supposed to be a fun night at the fair ended in tragedy for one Baton Rouge family on Sunday, March 30.
Yoni Sobalvarro, a devoted single father, was walking home from a fair on Florida Boulevard when he was hit by a vehicle. The driver of a car hit him near the service road just east of Sherwood Forest Boulevard around 9:15 p.m. His 6-year-old son, who was walking with him, had crossed the street first. Witnesses say Yoni jumped in front of the vehicle in a desperate attempt to save his child.
GoFundMe: Help support the family
Yoni was rushed to the hospital, where he was later declared brain dead. His son, who has a concussion and lung injuries, remains hospitalized but is expected to recover.
“At first, he didn’t want to go because he didn’t have the money,” said Kristin Frances, Yoni’s roommate and close friend. “And I told him just to come, to take his son to hang out, and we’d pay for it. Well, we got there and everything was fine.”
But the night took a devastating turn.
“We live in the neighborhood behind the fair that is on Florida Boulevard. He said he was ready to go home and we told him, ‘Okay.’ When we got home, he wasn’t there. So we went back to the fair—it was closed. Then we got a call at 1:00 a.m. in the morning,” Frances said, her voice breaking. “They told us he was hit by a car around 9:15 pm. A lady said the little boy went across the street and Yoni jumped in front of the car to stop it.”
Yoni was taken off life support the following Sunday around Noon, after doctors confirmed there was no brain activity.
“He just told me the other day, because I was having problems with my stomach, he told me, ‘Go to the doctor, take care of yourself, because we have kids to raise.’ And then, like, the next day, he died. I really feel guilty because he didn’t want to go to the fair. I convinced him,” Frances said tearfully.
Yoni’s son, who recently woke up, isn’t yet aware of his father’s death.
“We haven’t told him yet, but he keeps asking for him,” Frances said. “He knows the car hit him. He keeps saying that. He keeps showing us what happened, but we haven’t told him.”
Yoni, originally from Honduras, had been raising his son alone since the child was six-months-old. The boy’s mother, still in Honduras, gave up custody when he was a baby.
GoFundMe: Help support the family
“She gave him away when he was a baby,” Frances explained. “Yoni came down here when his baby was six months. He’s six (years) now. He’s been living with us since he was three.”
Due to immigration restrictions, Yoni’s mother had to secure a visa just to come make final decisions for her son.
Now, the family is left trying to pick up the pieces and make arrangements for Yoni’s burial. A GoFundMe campaign was started by his brother-in-law, Yeydi Ramirez.
“My name is Yeydi Ramirez, and I’m raising funds for my brother-in-law’s funeral,” he wrote on the page. “He was hit by a car with his child. Unfortunately, he and his child were in critical condition. We’re trying to raise funds so he can be buried and so we can help the child going forward.”
“If you can, please consider donating or sharing the link. Every show of support makes a huge difference,” the post reads.
The driver of the car that hit Yoti remained on scene and tests showed he did not have any signs of alcohol or impairment. Toxicology samples are pending.
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