When twin earthquakes struck Venezuela on June 24, Toronto Hyundai Service Advisor Juan Martinez Gomez knew he had to get home. His 14-year-old half-sister, Andrea, was living with her mother and grandmother in hard-hit La Guaira, and the family could not reach them.
Within hours, Marsim Auto Group President Benny Leung and Executive Vice President Lorri Tiberio-Leung had told Gomez to focus on his family, assured him his job was safe and provided financial support to help him make the trip.
That response from his employer became one of the few sources of relief during what would become a devastating three-week absence from work.
The magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck northern Venezuela less than a minute apart, causing widespread destruction in La Guaira and surrounding areas. The official death toll later rose to 6,509, with at least 190 buildings reported collapsed in La Guaira.
Gomez’s father contacted him after the earthquakes because he had been unable to reach Andrea. Gomez later learned that most of the 14-storey apartment building where she was staying had collapsed.
He contacted one of his managers, explained what had happened and said he needed to leave immediately. Unsure how long he would be away, he also asked for an advance.
The next morning, while waiting to board a flight, Gomez emailed several company executives, including Leung, explaining the situation.
Leung called him almost immediately.
“He told me to deal with my crisis and not worry about work,” Gomez told Canadian auto dealer.
According to Gomez, Leung advanced him $5,000 and a week’s pay. A week later, Benny and Lorri Leung sent another $5,000 to help cover his expenses.
With Venezuela’s main international airport disrupted by the earthquakes, Gomez flew to Colombia and continued overland. Through a friend who owned a supply store, he purchased food, water, blankets and equipment that could be used to search through debris.
“Imagine you need to fix a car, but you don’t have any tools,” Gomez said in an emotional interview with Canadian auto dealer. “In this situation you needed to break through walls, but how do you do it without hammers and electric tools?”
Gomez knew the layout of Andrea’s apartment and joined efforts to reach the unit through the rubble. His sister, her mother and grandmother had not survived.
He also helped recover other victims before his family members were removed from the building. Gomez said he spent four days in the disaster area, sleeping only a few hours at a time in the back of a truck.
Despite those efforts, he rejects any suggestion that what he did was heroic.
“I feel like I exceeded my own physical limits, that’s it,” he said. “I wanted my sister alive, or at least one of the three alive.”
Gomez returned to Toronto about three weeks later. He said he has had little opportunity to fully process what happened and agreed to speak publicly in large part because he wanted to acknowledge the support he received from Benny and Lorri Leung.
“To be honest with you, I didn’t expect it,” said Gomez, who had been with Toronto Hyundai for about two years when the earthquakes struck. “In that moment, the best feeling was that I didn’t have to worry about anything – just rescue my sister. The money helped me to finish this mission.
“After three weeks, not many companies would support you like that. They may keep your position but won’t help with the salary. Benny made sure I didn’t have to worry about anything with my job.”
Marsim Auto Group operates Toronto Hyundai, Genesis Yorkdale and Yorkdale Kia. Benny Leung downplayed the assistance he and his wife provided, saying it reflected how they try to treat employees across the group.
“If they need help, I take care of them,” he said. “It’s nothing special.”
Lorri Tiberio-Leung, who remained in regular contact with Gomez while he was away, said the decision to help was immediate.
“We didn’t know how long he’d be away, how serious the situation was or exactly what he would need,” she said. “We didn’t need all the details. We just knew that he was going through something incredibly difficult and we wanted to take some of the worry off his shoulders.”
As the extent of the tragedy became clearer, she continued checking in with him.
“What he went through most of us could probably never imagine,” she said. “What we did was very small compared to what Juan went through and continues to deal with. He is such a brave man, a good son and brother. We are lucky to have him on our team and part of our Toronto Hyundai family.”
For Gomez, the support has changed how he views his relationship with the dealership.
“This is one of the things pushing me every day,” he said. “My job with the company is more than money.”
