Bar fight victim had 6-year-old daughter

The death of a local man after a brawl outside an Old Town bar has left a 6-year-old girl without her father and a family looking for answers.Roseville police are investigating the death of Mario Santana, 28, who died Dec. 6 after sustaining blunt-force head trauma outside the Onyx Club. No charges have been filed."We're trying to get through this for Mario," his sister, Vanessa Santana, said Thursday. "Right now, I just want justice for my brother."Mario Santana was with friends at the popular Main Street bar Dec. 4 when he apparently got into a verbal fight at about 1 a.m. with another man, police and family members said. The two men, who family members said were friends and had been drinking that night, went outside.What happened next isn't clear. Vanessa Santana, 30, said she's been told Mario stumbled and hit his head on a planter during the fight and then hit his head on the sidewalk after he was punched again, passing out. Police say after the fight, a private party – who has not been identified by police – drove Santana to Kaiser Permanente in Roseville. Later, he was transferred to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.Doctors tried to keep him alive, his family said, but the brain damage was too extensive."My brother was bleeding in eight different places in his brain," Vanessa Santana said.Mario Santana was described as a devoted father, who was getting his life back together after a separation from his daughter's mother."He struggled for a little while like we all do," said Vanessa Santana, who lived with Mario in Citrus Heights.The 1998 graduate of Roseville High School had been in banking for a while, and had also worked for a time at Bushnell Gardens Nursery in Granite Bay, she said.Recently, he landed a job at a Bank of America in Citrus Heights, where he rode his bike every day to work. His favorite thing to spend money on was his little girl, Alizae, she said.He loved basketball and football, and was especially partial to the Denver Broncos, Vanessa Santana said. But it was his family that kept him going, including spending time with his nieces and nephews."Each one of them has a special bond," she said. "He and my nephew played Madden football. He would even play dress-up with them."His daughter has been told that her father is not coming back, she said, and is struggling to come to terms. "My brother was a very private person when it comes to her tears, and she takes after that," Vanessa Santana said. "His nephews and nieces keep asking where he's at. How come he's not awake? If he doesn't wake up does that mean he's going be dead?"A few weeks ago, Mario Santana was baptized at Abundant Life Fellowship in Roseville – the same place where his services were scheduled to be held Friday, Santana said."He felt in his heart he was ready to save himself and welcome in the Lord," she said. "He just prayed to God to have him change his life."Police have said they have interviewed the parties involved, and that charges will be filed if warranted. "We understand that grieving family members want answers, but our job is to conduct a complete, fair and thorough investigation of all the facts and evidence before forming any conclusions," department spokeswoman Dee Dee Gunther said.But that's cold comfort for the Santana family. Vanessa Santana said she doesn't think the man her brother fought with intended for him to die. "I'm not saying this man meant to do that; he just might have gone a little bit overboard," she said.But she wants to make sure someone is held accountable."Right now, we just have to wait," she said.In addition to his sister and daughter, Mario Santana leaves behind two brothers, Leonard Santana, 26, and Alfred Hijar, 35; his mother, Sandra Rivera; and numerous nephews and nieces.Mario Santana was with friends at the popular Main Street bar Dec. 4 when he apparently got into a verbal fight at about 1 a.m. with another man, police and family members said. The two men, who family members said were friends and had been drinking that night, went outside.What happened next isn't clear. Vanessa Santana, 30, said she's been told Mario stumbled and hit his head on a planter during the fight and then hit his head on the sidewalk after he was punched again, passing out. Police say after the fight, a private party – who has not been identified by police – drove Santana to Kaiser Permanente in Roseville. Later, he was transferred to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.Doctors tried to keep him alive, his family said, but the brain damage was too extensive."My brother was bleeding in eight different places in his brain," Vanessa Santana said.Mario Santana was described as a devoted father, who was getting his life back together after a separation from his daughter's mother."He struggled for a little while like we all do," said Vanessa Santana, who lived with Mario in Citrus Heights.The 1998 graduate of Roseville High School had been in banking for a while, and had also worked for a time at Bushnell Gardens Nursery in Granite Bay, she said.Recently, he landed a job at a Bank of America in Citrus Heights, where he rode his bike every day to work. His favorite thing to spend money on was his little girl, Alizae, she said.He loved basketball and football, and was especially partial to the Denver Broncos, Vanessa Santana said. But it was his family that kept him going, including spending time with his nieces and nephews."Each one of them has a special bond," she said. "He and my nephew played Madden football. He would even play dress-up with them."His daughter has been told that her father is not coming back, she said, and is struggling to come to terms. "My brother was a very private person when it comes to her tears, and she takes after that," Vanessa Santana said. "His nephews and nieces keep asking where he's at. How come he's not awake? If he doesn't wake up does that mean he's going be dead?"A few weeks ago, Mario Santana was baptized at Abundant Life Fellowship in Roseville – the same place where his services were scheduled to be held Friday, Santana said."He felt in his heart he was ready to save himself and welcome in the Lord," she said. "He just prayed to God to have him change his life."Police have said they have interviewed the parties involved, and that charges will be filed if warranted. "We understand that grieving family members want answers, but our job is to conduct a complete, fair and thorough investigation of all the facts and evidence before forming any conclusions," department spokeswoman Dee Dee Gunther said.But that's cold comfort for the Santana family. Vanessa Santana said she doesn't think the man her brother fought with intended for him to die. "I'm not saying this man meant to do that; he just might have gone a little bit overboard," she said.But she wants to make sure someone is held accountable."Right now, we just have to wait," she said.In addition to his sister and daughter, Mario Santana leaves behind two brothers, Leonard Santana, 26, and Alfred Hijar, 35; his mother, Sandra Rivera; and numerous nephews and nieces.