TAMPA — Life was going according to plan for 33-year-old Jesus Emanuel Lanzo.
He moved to Florida from Rhode Island by himself about a year ago in search of a better life for his wife Glorimar Lanzo and three kids.
He'd recently been promoted at work and his family was set to join him in Tampa this January.
Early Saturday morning, Lanzo, 33, was killed when his car was struck by a drunken driver, according to a report from the Florida Highway Patrol.
His passenger, fellow Tampa resident and friend from their native Puerto Rico, Carlos Angler Quinones Perez, 33, also died.
Troopers arrested the driver, Anwar Daoud Askar, 54, on two charges of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide.
"This is just horrible," said Lanzo's cousin Greisa Cordero, 37, of Orlando. "His wife was just here last weekend. They spent several days together. They were establishing what was next."
On Oct. 15, Lanzo posted a lip locked photo to Facebook of himself with his wife. Under it he wrote, "With her, please don't call for now. Cell phones are off blessings."
Cordero said her cousin's daughters are 18 and 15 and his son is 11.
"He was a very hands-on father," she said. "He did everything from go-carting to playing baseball to teaching them music. He was a great singer."
Cordero said Lanzo's friend, Perez, was married with two children.
A GoFundMe campaign to collect donations for Lanzo's funeral expenses has been set up with the goal of raising $40,000.
Cordero said they want to fly Lanzo to Rhode Island for a service and then to Puerto Rico to be buried on a family plot.
Some of the money will go toward Perez's expenses.
"We hope to help his family too," Cordero said.
Askar, of Tampa, was driving north in the outside lane of the Veterans Expressway at about 2:20 a.m. Saturday, according to FHP. His 2014 Mercedes-Benz hit the back of a 2001 Pontiac driven by Lanzo.
The impact from the crash flung the Pontiac into a concrete barrier on the outside shoulder, authorities said. The car landed on the exit ramp to Independence Parkway and caught fire. Lanzo and Perez died at the scene.
Askar's car hit a barrier in the inside shoulder. He was taken to Tampa General Hospital with serious injuries.
Lanzo first moved to Orlando from Rhode Island and found work there with Florida Utility Trailers, his cousin said. He relocated to Tampa two months ago when offered a promotion to assistant parts manager for that same company.
"He was establishing himself," Cordero said.
One donor on the GoFundMe page wrote, "Heaven has gained an amazing angel."
Another thanked him for blessing the world with "that warm smile."
That smile, Cordero said, is definitely one of Lanzo's legacies.
"He was loving, outgoing and very involved in church and reaching out to others," Cordero said. "He had this magnetic personality. He was always smiling."
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Explore all your optionsContact Paul Guzzo at pguzzo@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3394. Follow @PGuzzoTimes.