BRIGHTON, Colo. (KDVR) – Gustavo Mosqueda, 25, had the greatest laugh and the biggest bear hugs.

He was honest and full of joy. A genuine person who was a mentor to his siblings.

A homeowner. A whiz with cars. A lover of music.

He was “the embodiment of the American Dream,” said Analucia Mosqueda, 17, his younger sister. She described him as the glue of the family who never forgot where he came from.

“I think he was a better person than all of us put together,” said Maricruz Mosqueda, Gustavo’s older sister.

Mosqueda was killed in October after being struck by the driver of a stolen vehicle, who was speeding away from a Brighton Police officer in Mosqueda’s residential neighborhood.

The driver is now facing first-degree murder charges among others. The police officer was fired for improperly initiating the chase.

The crash was the third to follow a Brighton Police pursuit in a span of seven months in 2021 in which someone was killed or ejected from a vehicle. In all three incidents, an internal affairs investigator found problems either with how the chases were initiated or how they were terminated.

“I just hope the police department will get their act together and give people the answers they need because, I mean, enough is enough. It has happened way too many times. It’s no longer an accident. It’s just plain negligence,” Analucia said.

‘The most genuine person ever’

At the time of the crash, Gustavo was walking in his own neighborhood, trying to get in shape.

He had recently returned from a trip to Japan, where his sisters said he helped set up generators and run cables for some Olympics venues. When he returned, he wanted to live a healthier lifestyle, so he started going on daily walks in his neighborhood.

“There’s no words to describe how incredible he was, honestly,” said Maricruz, who called her brother Tavo.

Analucia said her brother was “the most genuine person ever” who wanted to be a good role model for her. “He would give the best advice,” she said.

There were a lot of little kids who looked up to him when he worked at the Boys and Girls Club growing up, Maricruz said. “He loved kids as well. He’d play basketball with him. Everybody just loved Tavo.”

The sisters described their brother as “super goal-oriented” with so many projects.

“He wanted to start a YouTube channel for fixing cars,” Maricruz said. “He was a genius. He would see something (and) break it apart and put it together, and it would work better than new,” she said. “He was patient. He was so patient.”