Man killed fleeing accident on FDR
A father of five apparently fearing a drunk driving charge ran across the FDR Drive following a fender-bender on the Upper East Side early Saturday — only to be mowed down by a passing car, officials said.
“I’m just in shock,” Yvonne Cubero said about her husband, Heward (Eddie) Velez, from their home in Moonachie, N.J., Saturday — just a few hours after he was fatally struck near E. 100th St. “He was a good guy. Now we have to bury their father.”
Velez, 50, was driving a Honda Civic north on the FDR when he and the driver of a Jeep sideswiped each other about 4:50 a.m., cops said.
Both drivers pulled over to assess the damage and trade information when Velez inexplicably ran off across the highway, police were told.
When he entered the southbound lanes, he was struck by a Cadillac SUV, officials said.
Medics rushed him to Metropolitan Hospital, where he died.
No charges were immediately filed against the SUV driver.
Police hadn’t arrived at the scene when Velez made a dash for the other side of the highway, officials said.
Cubero said the beloved handyman had gone to the city after dinner and and a movie with two of his young sons in Ridgefield Park, N.J. He also showed them his new apartment in Fort Lee, N.J., before dropping them back in Moonachie just before midnight.
“He must have went to the city to hang out,” Cubero said. “He was funny and crazy at the same time. His children were his heart.
“You know, sometimes you don’t think about things until after… I don’t know,” she said somberly.
Investigators suspect Velez was worried about a DWI charge when he made a break for it.
Traffic was stopped for several hours as police investigated.