Juan Andrade death: Family grieves loss of father who drowned while saving son with autism in Lincoln Heights lake

LINCOLN HEIGHTS, LOS ANGELES () — A family is left heartbroken after a tragic drowning at a Lincoln Heights park last week. A man jumped into a lake to save his son, who has autism. The boy survived, but his father drowned.

Eyewitness News spoke with the victim’s widow and daughters, who shared that Juan Andrade was a caring and happy man. They are devastated by his sudden death.

His wife says he’s a hero for giving his life to save their son.

On April 14, Juan died in an accidental drowning at the lake in Lincoln Park while trying to save his 14-year-old son.

ORIGINAL REPORT: Father drowns, teen son rescued after being pulled from lake in Lincoln Heights

His wife, Michelle, shared that while she wasn’t there when the accident happened, she learned that her son, Kevin, who has autism, somehow went into the lake while her husband may have been distracted while receiving an emergency call from a family member.

When her husband saw their son in the lake, he went after him, and during that process, he somehow accidentally drowned. Someone nearby was able to get her son out of the water. She said they searched for her husband for 30 minutes before he was found.

The father and son were both taken to General Hospital — the same hospital where she works — but Juan was pronounced dead.

“I have a lot of pain in my heart. I know I’m going to miss him. He’s gone forever,” Juan’s wife, Michelle Andrade, said.

“He was kind and very talkative. He was a very, like, friendly person. You could easily be friends with him after talking with him a few times,” said Esmeralda Andrade, Juan’s daughter.

The family set up a GoFundMe to help support the Andrades with not only funeral arrangements, but also to support caring for Kevin.

The family says Juan was the main caretaker for Kevin when his wife was at work.

They say they are thankful for all of the donations they have received so far to support their family.