By admin 
MESA, AZ (AZFamily) — The family of a man found dead outside a facility that serves people with developmental disabilities is pushing for answers.
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Police found 36-year-old Lorenzo Lopez dead inside a van parked outside Pathways for Life in Mesa on Thursday after temperatures that day soared above 100 degrees.
“Something went wrong; this should not happen,” said Heather Bushor, litigating attorney with the Shapiro Law Team.
Family devastated by loss.
Bushor will represent Lopez’s family in any future wrongful death lawsuit filed. She said they are conducting their own investigation, trying to determine how Lopez died and who, if anyone, is responsible.
“The family is very upset right now, devastated, it’s terrible. Lorenzo didn’t come home on Thursday, June 4, and still isn’t home,” Bushor said.
She said Lopez relied fully on his family for care.
“He cannot survive on his own — he’s mentally and physically disabled,” Bushor said. “He lived with his close immediate family, they cared for him every day, very involved in his life.”
15 years at the facility
Bushor said for 15 years, Lopez was picked up by Pathways five days a week and would spend the majority of his day at their facility.
“He gets picked up around 7:30 every morning,” Bushor said. “He normally comes home around 4:30 in the afternoon, and he never got dropped off.”
Attorneys, police and Lopez’s family are trying to piece together what happened between the pickup that morning and the police finding his body that evening.
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“It’s an absolute tragedy, it’s absolutely devastating to anybody who knows about it, hears about it, knows anything about the family. I don’t know how it couldn’t affect somebody. It’s terrible,” Bushor said.
Seeking accountability
Lopez leaves behind his family, who are demanding answers and accountability not only for themselves, but with the hope of protecting others.
“Their main purpose in this is to figure out what happened, get the truth, but also to make sure it doesn’t happen again to someone else,” Bushor said.
Mesa police didn’t have any new updates to share on Monday. The medical examiner’s office hasn’t released Lopez’s cause of death.
A company spokesperson with Pathways for Life released the following statement on Monday, confirming that involved staff members have been placed on administrative leave.
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