Wichita man killed in fatal hit-and-run was lover of family, cars and haircuts

Alberto Ortiz had a longtime affinity for accessorizing cars that extended to motorcycles the last couple of years.

The 33-year-old Wichita man died Wednesday night in a fatal hit-and-run in southeast Wichita. He was on a motorcycle when the wreck occurred around 9:15 p.m. in the block of 6300 E. Pawnee.

After the collision, 25-year-old Lila Garcia drove away from the crash scene before being arrested, according to Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Lanon Thompson. The Wichita woman was arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence and booked in jail early Thursday morning.

Laura Franco, Ortiz’s younger sister, found out about the wreck early Thursday morning after her parents called her husband in the middle of the night. She said her parents, who emigrated from Mexico when they were young, are in disbelief.

She said Garcia “should’ve stayed there to make sure he was OK.”

“I can’t really be mad at her because she can’t bring my brother back,” she said.

Jorge Franco said he was friends with Ortiz before marrying his sister. He said Ortiz had a Honda Civic that he put an upgraded motor and aftermarket wheels on before he started to get into motorcycles. Ortiz had a diverse group of friends from being around the car scene, he said.

The Francos described Ortiz as well-liked and funny — he’d often Snapchat funny photos when on break at Spirit AeroSystems. Jorge Franco said Ortiz also liked to get his haircut done frequently and called it “crispy” after it was first cut.

He said Ortiz loved his family. He would take care of the Francos’ younger children when the older ones would have sporting events out of town. Uncle Ortiz would take them to their soccer games and fishing, he said.

Laura Franco said her brother was also a good father to his 7-year-old son, Giovanni. She’ll always remember her big brother acting as a protector of her since a young age, when they grew up in the Oaklawn neighborhood.

“He would help anybody that needed help and he always had a lot of friends,” she said.

They are planning a candlelight vigil for Friday and still making funeral arrangements. A GoFundMe was set up to help with funeral costs and additional money will go to his son. The GoFundMe is available at bit.ly/3jTdpc4.