By GWEN MURANAKA, Rafu Senior Editor
“He was very unique — the heart of our family, always happy — always cracking jokes,” Kara Kimura Garcia said of her big brother Brandon.
Brandon Kimura, 34, was killed at about 11:19 a.m. on Oct. 17, when his truck was rear-ended on Euclid Street at the 5 Freeway in Anaheim. According to Anaheim police, a vehicle traveling northbound on Euclid Street rear-ended another, triggering a six-vehicle crash. Brandon was in the first car struck and died at the scene.
Now his family has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay expenses as they prepare for his funeral on Nov. 7.
Brandon graduated from Gahr High School in Cerritos and the family are active at the Southeast Japanese School and Community Center in Norwalk.
At nearly six feet tall, Brandon was athletic, playing judo, basketball and baseball in his youth.
He worked alongside his dad, Stan Kimura, a graduate of Gardena High, who owns Southcoast Building Maintenance Service. Before the coronavirus pandemic, Stan and Brandon were regular fixtures at the Norwalk center, helping clean and maintain the facility.
“Brandon and Dad up until this happened still cleaned the center. They would wax floors before and after festivals, help take down the tents. They helped when they redid the basketball courts,” Kara explained.
In 2015, Richard Shinomoto, SEJSCC president, praised Stan Kimura in the newsletter, saying, “Have you seen the hallways and classroom floors? I would like to thank Stan Kimura for stripping and waxing all the classrooms and hallways. The floors look brand new. Thank you again for all the hard work.”
When the accident first happened, Kara said they weren’t able to contact her dad. His sudden passing has been particularly devastating to Brandon’s parents, Stan and Maria.
“Dad and brother were extremely close. They were best friends. They lived together and worked together,” Kara said.
Also lost were the truck and equipment they used for their business. Stan hasn’t been able to work since the accident.
Maria had lost her mother on Sept. 26 and the accident happened a day after the funeral.
On the GoFundMe page, Kara says, “A day after burying our beloved grandma, my mom’s mother, the pain we endured as a family throughout the months leading up felt unbearable but the very next day would come to be the most extreme pain we never thought we’d have to cope with.”
As of Friday, the campaign has raised approximately $5,400 of a $15,000 goal.
Kara said her brother was patient, loved Marvel movies and loved his niece Lea.
“He had nothing negative to say about anybody. I can count on one hand the times he’s been mad or upset,” Kara said.
Brandon Kimura is survived by mother Maria F. Kimura, father Stanley E. Kimura; brother Nicolas Kimura; and niece Lea. The GoFundMe page is at www.gofundme.com/f/2694wdu6yo