Family, friends say goodbye to Castroville boy

A week after a deadly car accident in Prunedale, family and friends laid Mateo Daza Novoa, 5, to rest on Wednesday.

NewsChannel 5 was invited to the services Wednesday morning. It was an extremely emotional gathering as those close to Mateo’s family said their last goodbyes.

Close to 300 people gathered at Our Lady of Refuge Church in Castroville. Many who attended showed their support for the family by wearing Captain America shirts in honor of Mateo. Two of his cousins shared the story behind the reason for that.

“He would always say he’s Super Mateo, and you know, his goal was to always be a superhero and be able to just be like Captain America and explore the world. And be able to save lives. And that’s what he’s doing up there,” Mateo’s cousin, Samantha Daza, said.

Mateo died last week after his father’s work truck rolled down a driveway and hit him. California Highway Patrol is still investigating what caused the truck to roll.

Mateo’s father said Mateo had a great spirit and loved his two brothers and his mother very much.