Last week, a hard-working Mexican immigrant was struck and killed by a heartless hit-and-run driver near a Brooklyn intersection, just as his father did 40 years ago.
Felix Mendez, 49, of Lafayette Street, was walking at the intersection of Lafayette Street and Bedford Street around 3 a.m. Thursday when he was struck by a car, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said the driver continued north on Bedford without stopping, leaving Mendez with serious injuries.
He was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in critical condition, where he was later pronounced dead.
Mendez's friend and neighbor Alejandro Flores, 45, told the Post that his friend died in an eerily similar manner to his father, who was killed in a hit-and-run in Mexico 40 years ago.
“His father was riding his bicycle when he was hit by a drunk driver and killed,” Flores said of Mendez, who was 8 years old at the time. “Someone came to his house and said to his mother, 'Your husband is dying on the street.'”
“He always remembered that,” Flores continued. “Now it's the same for him. It's very sad.”
Francisco Mendez, the victim's 40-year-old nephew, said he had already informed his uncle's four brothers in Mexico and his son Leonardo, who lives in California, of her death.
“Leonardo, he's 22 years old. He started crying. He can't speak and he's crying,” Francisco Mendez said. “They talked very regularly. They never lasted more than two weeks. They were very close. [from the mother] It was a long time ago, but he always takes care of his son. ”
Flores said she became close with Felix Mendez while working at a restaurant on Broad Street in the late 2000s. “I gave him the job. We were the only Mexicans here,” he said.
Felix Mendez, who came to the United States around 1999, was working to finance housing construction in Puebla, Mexico, which he had been working on for the past three years.
Flores said he eventually wants to return to Mexico and become a pig farmer. However, work progressed slowly, as Felix Mendez frequently siphoned off funds sent to his son in the West.
“Everyone's dream is to do this: to earn money and build their own buildings,” Flores said. “And he did it! The only delay was sending money to his son. … He stopped building the house only when he had to send this money.”
Flores remembered Felix Mendez as an incredibly hard worker who worked long hours and late into the night at his two restaurant jobs.
But he also tried to stay in shape, running the track three days a week regardless of what he had done the night before.
“Felix worked very hard. He never stopped working,” Flores said. “Even after working late into the night, he would wake up at 7 a.m. and drive around the nearby track.”
The two had hoped to one day run the New York City Marathon.
“The marathon runs right by here, and every year we sit here and say, 'Let's do this,'” Flores said. “But that time is getting closer. We've been working seven days and we don't have time to train. So we've been saying we want to do this, but it hasn't happened yet.”
His nephew Francisco Mendez said he was trying to send his uncle's body to Puebla. However, it was difficult to raise enough funds to do so.
“We only do it through people we know. It's $5 here, $10 there,” he said. “It's very difficult.”
