Parents Speak Out After Son Dies from Accidental Fall on Spring Break in Mexico: 'It's Completely Senseless'

"You can't breathe, you can't process anything, you don't feel like anything is real," said Sayra Nevarez, mother of Aiden Nevarez

Aiden Nevarez. Photo: GoFundMe

The parents of a college student who fell to his death while on spring break in Mexico are remembering their son and calling for action to prevent similar accidents.

Aiden Nevarez, 18, died in Cabo San Lucas on March 7 after he climbed a small wall in front of trees outside his hotel, without realizing there was 20-foot drop on the other side, according to The Arizona Republic.

"We love him so much and we're going to miss him until we see him again," his mother Sayra Nevarez told the Republic on Saturday. "I know wherever he's at right now, he's going to conquer because that's who Aiden was."

She added the Arizona State University freshman, who was majoring in financial planning, had a "very, very bright future" ahead of him.

Sayra and her husband, Matias Nevarez, were informed of their son's death by the consulate shortly after the accident, the newspaper reported.

"You can't breathe, you can't process anything, you don't feel like anything is real," Sayra said. "Everything stops — your life stops right there."

According to KTVK/KPHO, Nevarez's death certificate indicated that he died of an accidental fall.

As his parents grieve, Sayra said her emotions are "just as raw" as when they found out the news. Still, Sayra said that she was "thrilled that everybody gets to see a little piece of him even in this awful circumstance."

The parents are also calling for change, including better signage or a heightened wall at the Hotel Riu Santa Fe, where the accident occurred.

"This can't happen to anyone else — it's completely senseless," Sayra told the outlet.

In an emailed statement, the hotel told PEOPLE, "We are deeply dismayed regarding the events happened in the facilities of our Riu Santa Fe hotel. At this moment, we ask you to understand that we cannot offer information since at the moment the case is in the hands of the authorities who are conducting the investigation of what happened and with who we are fully collaborating. However, what we can firmly state is that the Riu Santa Fe hotel complies with official construction regulations and complies with signage regulations and that we are willing to help and support the family and their relatives during this sad process."

Aiden's friends are also speaking out following his passing.

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"If I could be half as good of a man as he was, I'll have a pretty good life," Jack Fitzgerald, an ASU freshman who was on the Mexico trip with Aiden, told the Republic.

"Aiden lived his life to the fullest — he never took it for granted," Aidan Brown, a fellow ASU freshman who had known Aiden since elementary school, told the outlet. "That's a big takeaway for me, just knowing that some freak thing can just take someone from you in an instant. You should just be so grateful for what you have and you shouldn't take your life for granted."

More than $100,000 had been raised through a GoFundMe set up for the family.