Dozens of vehicles filled the parking lot of Canadian Tire in Bradford on Sunday afternoon for a charity bike wash in honour of the late Javier Quiroz Hernandez, who was killed in a motorcycle crash last month.
Quiroz Hernandez, who lived above the Hacienda Santa Teresa restaurant in Bradford with his mother, Marta Hernandez, and his father, Francisco Quiroz, worked for a construction company owned by the restaurant’s owner, Juan Velazquez Sr.
Quiroz Hernandez worked hard at his job, providing for his family back home in Mexico, his wife Adriana and 11-year-old son, Jose. Both his wife and son were set to move to Canada this summer to finally live with Quiroz Hernadez full-time. Once settled, they had planned to have another baby.
The family remains here in Bradford for now. They have been staying at the Quiroz Hernandez home while being comforted by the Hacienda Santa Teresa family.
After reading about Quiroz Hernandez’s death and seeing the outpouring of support for him, resident Garrison Hooper decided to help the family, and that’s how the idea for the fundraiser came about.
For $5, attendees were able to get their vehicles washed, and for $15 could have a professional photo taken by Northern Rebel Media and Matthew Cordy Photography with their bike or car.
In total, the event raised $3,216, with all proceeds going to Quiroz Hernandez's family.
"Volunteers for the wash worked really hard washing over 50 motorcycles in five hours," said Hooper. "A huge thanks to Mark at Canadian Tire and to the managers, Matt and Richard. ATV Farms was kind enough to lend us crates for the photo wall. A big thanks to them."
Hooper also thanked members of the Barrie and Area Sportbikes group who helped make the event a success: Chris Pinkney, Sean McGarigle, and Matthew Cordy, as well as other volunteers: Dale Hancock Chang, Colin Wayne Mccullough, Kelly Tibando, Kevin Brazil Eiras, David Chantler, Derek T, and Ryan Hooper.
"I am really proud of the entire crew and how we worked together as a true collective team," he said.
The GoFundMe for the family of Quiroz Hernandez can be found here.
