A Texas father is fighting for his life following a brutal attack which occurred as he protected his daughter from her boyfriend, his family said.
According to KXAN, Jaime Apodaca, 24, assaulted his girlfriend’s father, Eric Garcia on March 23, after Garcia confronted him for yelling at and calling his daughter derogatory names. Apodaca allegedly punched Garcia in a bedroom at Garcia’s home before knocking his girlfriend’s tooth out for trying to pull him away from her father.
The physical altercation reportedly spilled out into the hallway. Amid the scuffle, Apodaca allegedly knocked Garcia down several times and repeatedly punched him as his girlfriend pleaded for him to stop.
The fight reportedly ended outside the home, where Apodaca’s said to have punched Garcia so hard that his head slammed into the concrete and left behind a stream of blood. Garcia reportedly sustained a skull fracture, inter-cranial trauma, and a herniated brain—and relatives told the news station that he’s in a coma that he might not come out of.
KXAN reported that Apodaca had been dating Garcia’s daughter for a month and was living in Garcia’s Austin home. An arrest warrant stated that the March 23 altercation started after Apodaca accused his girlfriend of cheating.
“His heart quit beating on the driveway and it took over 15 minutes with the paramedics to get his heartbeat back. He is now in a coma at the hospital fighting for his life, and a diagnosis does not look good,” a fundraiser for Garcia said.
Apodaca was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with serious bodily injury, assault causing bodily injury, assault causing bodily injury to a family member, and evading arrest or detention. He remains jailed on $144,000 bond.
[Featured image: Eric Garcia/GoFundMe; Jaime Apodaca/Austin Police Department]
