Family told our sister station 12News Lloyd Ornelas suffered from severe heat stroke, which led to cardiac arrest.
PHOENIX — A Valley man died after his car broke down on the hottest day of the year, according to family.
Family said Lloyd Ornelas, 40, was on his way home from work on July 9, a 118-degree day in Phoenix, when his car broke down. He started to walk for help, but never made it. He collapsed from heat stroke on the side of the road.
“His condition was grave at that point,” his aunt Sonya Pereira said.
Ornelas went into cardiac arrest. Doctors at Banner University Medical Center were initially able to bring him back, but his condition was too severe and he died several days later, according to family.
“An unfortunate series of events that led to this tragedy,” Pereira said. “It was the heat, he broke down, he was probably dehydrated. So, he just said this was like a recipe for disaster.”
Maricopa County has reported nine heat-related deaths so far in 2025, according to the public health dashboard. Approximately 275 cases are still under investigation as of Sunday, July 20.
There were more than 600 heat-related deaths reported in 2024 in Maricopa County.
‘He was just a loving person’
“I know if Lloyd could just have saved one person by bringing awareness, he would,” Pereira said.
To his family, Ornelas was larger than life.
“Lloyd was inspirational,” his aunt Monica McElroy said. “He always tried to find a silver lining.”
Ornelas was a dedicated brother and a loving father to three.
“He would always show up with flowers or just something, just to like brighten whoever he was around, just brighten their day,” Pereira said.
His two aunts told 12News their nephew was hard-working and gave everything back to the people he loved most.
“He was very loved and he loved hard,” Pereira said.
“He really did. He so loved his children, his siblings, his family, his friends; he was just a loving person,” McElroy added.
A GoFundMe page was created to help the Ornelas family pay for funeral expenses. Anyone who wishes to donate can click here.
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner is still investigating the official cause of his death.