The cause of 16 and Pregnant alum ‘s death has been revealed five months after he died in February.
Garinger died due to a blunt force injury to the head, according to documents from the medical examiner’s office in Raleigh, North Carolina, obtained by TMZ. Garinger’s skull was fractured in several places at the time of his death.
The reality TV personality, who shared children and with , was driving an ATV in his driveway in Boone, North Carolina, when the vehicle flipped and pinned him underneath. He was 20 years old.
Garinger’s mother, , confirmed his death to The Sun in early March, saying that she “was with him” when the incident happened.
“He was just moving [the ATV] from one parking spot to the next for me, so I could back in to park,” she told the publication. “He pulled [in] front of me to park the ATV and the ground gave way from all the rain and mud.”
Hobbs recalled running to get help from the neighbors. “No one answered. I ran back to him,” she explained. “By that time, I realized he wasn’t alive anymore.”
While waiting for the ambulance to arrive, Hobbs “laid next to” her son. “There was a huge part of my heart that died with my son. He was my only son, my rock, my strength when I had none left,” Hobbs continued. “Sean brightened my world in a way no one else could ever come close to. He was my baby boy, my squishy, my heartbeat.”
Garinger previously appeared on season 6 of 16 and Pregnant, which aired in March 2021.
Garinger and Gutierrez, 20, had a long-distance relationship, as Gutierrez resided in Colorado. However, they were not together at the time of his death.
After her ex’s death, Gutierrez told the Daily Mail: “No matter the circumstances, that was my kids’ father. Not only was I with him for nine plus years, he was my first love, my first everything, and we had two beautiful daughters that I’ll always be grateful for.”
While Gutierrez confessed that she wasn’t always on “the best of terms” with Garinger, they had been amicable around the time of his death. “We never really talked one on one, it was always through my sisters or his mom, and he was doing better,” she noted. “He was over 200 days sober.”
She continued, “I know he was in school. He had gotten out of rehab and moved with his mom to Carolina. My heart aches for her.”
