Fort Myers auto shop raises money for family of slain deputy

A Fort Myers auto shop is raising money for the family of a Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was killed on Sunday.

During the season known for gifts and giving, Sgt. Elio Diaz’s family, including his children, ages 24, 20, 17 and 5, are dealing with grief and loss.

James Thompson owns Savage 4×4 Inc. and wants to be there for the Diaz family during their time of grief.

“We want to give something for Christmas,” said Thompson. “It’s just way too close for something this sad to happen, so we want to jump in there and help them out.”

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Thompson said that he wants people to realize that there are multiple kids who lost their father.

“We want to bring awareness, not that people don’t realize it, but he has four children,” said Thompson. “The youngest is 5, and he has some teenagers.”

William Soloman is a manager at Savage 4×4 Inc. He said that one call changed what was supposed to be a fun and light event at Mugs n’ Jugs and turned it into one with a far greater meaning.

“We had Santa coming out,” said Solomon. “We had the Grinch coming out. We had all these different things. And what happened? I got a phone call, and I said, hey, and it was my mom, right? She says, hey, you have to, you have to change this.”

Mark Hoffman is with Savage 4×4 Inc. He said that as a veteran, it especially hurts to hear about a deputy being killed.

“About 24 hours ago, I got the phone call saying that we were shifting,” said Hoffman. “It was no longer going to be a fun gathering. It was going to be an all-out effort to raise money for a family of a fallen officer. As a veteran and as someone who’s married to an officer, it hits home. It hits deep, and I just wanted to do anything and everything I possibly could to.”

These men, most from Savage 4×4 Inc., got into action and, in less than 24 hours, collected donations to raffle off prices and raised money through gifts like two forever fluffy Frenchies.

The proceeds go to a family whose holiday season will feel much more empty this year.

“Four children, 24, 20, 17 and 5,” said Solomon. “I remember that because I’ve been texting people about it for the last two days. I cannot begin to understand what they’re going through. As a father of four myself, I couldn’t imagine leaving them behind. We can’t make anything better. We can’t bring him back, unfortunately, but this is what we can do.”

“The event, organizing it, getting it going, is just a small thing, and in this world, and hopefully, you know, it can make a big difference,” said Solomon.

The event is this Saturday at 12 p.m. at Mugs n’ Jugs. They’ll be raffling off full car detailing, window ceramic coating and so much more.

If you want to see some of the items being raffled off or the other ways you can help the Diaz family, you can go to their event page on Facebook through Savage 4×4 called “Santa backs the badge.”