CRuEL DRIVER
A DRUNKEN motorist mowed down a food deliveryman who was pedaling home from work in Queens — killing the bicyclist and then driving around the neighborhood for hours before cops collared him, officials said.
A red 2002 Ford Escape heading south on 39th St. slammed into Gelasio Reyes as he spun east through the intersection at 43rd Ave. in Sunnyside, about 3 a.m. Saturday, according to cops.
The heartless hit-and-run driver, identified by cops as Cristian Guiracocha, 25, left Reyes and his mangled bike behind, officials said.
Paramedics rushed the 32-year-old Reyes to Elmhurst Hospital, where he died.
He was on his way from work to his Corona home when he was struck, grieving relatives said.
“He finished work maybe 12 o’clock,” his brother-in-law Renaldo Rolando said. “He was coming by bike.”
Rolando said Reyes, who was born in Mexico, was married with three children — each of them age 10 or younger. He worked in Manhattan, and used his bike to commute.
Reyes’ young son, Michael Reyes, 8, was devastated by his father’s death.
“I feel sad because a driver just hit him by accident and he just ran away,” the boy said. “Maybe he couldn’t control the car. Maybe when he escaped, maybe he didn’t want to go to jail. He’s supposed to say sorry.”
Twenty people crowded into the cramped living room of Reyes’ modest apartment to grieve and to comfort his family. Many of them sobbed.
A photo of the victim sat surrounded by flickering candles. Many other family photos adorned the walls.
“Bicycling is really dangerous in New York City,” said Reyes’ teary wife Gloria Jimenez, 29.
She says it’s better to take public transportation.
“The bus will let you come safe home,” she said.
Young Michael then burst into tears.
Family friend Adolfo Salazar, a boy of about 11, said Reyes made him feel like family.
“I know him since long time ago that he was a great person,” the boy said. “He was a great man and a responsible man. He always treat everybody well.”
Cops searching the area a few hours after the crash spotted the red SUV — its windshield spiderwebbed and caved in, its bumper crushed and torn off on the passenger side — in Woodside. about 7 a.m.
Officers took Guiracocha, of Sunnyside, into custody, authorities said. He was charged with driving while impaired, aggravated unlicensed driving and refusal to take a breath test. The charges will likely be upgraded to vehicular manslaughter at his arraignment, officials said.
By Thursday, 46 people had been killed in crashes in 2017, compared to 51 in the same period in 2016.
There have been two bicycle deaths so far this year compared to three in 2016.