‘He was finally going back to who he was’: Brooklyn man was getting his life back together before he was killed by stray bullet
from Brooklyn road rage dispute
A Brooklyn man on the road to recovery died after he was struck by a stray bullet when a motorist in a fender bender recklessly opened fire in a fit of road rage, police said.
The stray slug hit Jose Celis, 58, in the head early Sunday as he walked near Fourth Ave. and Pacific St. in Park Slope. Celis was rushed to Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.
“He was walking the street just waiting for the light to turn,” said Marie Solis, one of the victim’s seven siblings. “He was such a good person, a good father. He has two kids. He was a good brother, and son. We are all in shock.”
Celis managed to cling to life for two days; he died Tuesday evening, authorities said.
The gunman, who is still on the loose, rear-ended a grey Infiniti with his white Kia SUV at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday and sped off, setting off a chain of events that ended in Celis’ death, cops said.
After he was rammed, the angry Infiniti driver gave chase for several blocks until someone in the Kia started shooting, cops said.
One shot hit the Infiniti while a second slug struck Celis, who was less than 500 feet away on Fourth Ave.
The heartless shooter sped off in his Kia again while the Infiniti driver called 911. The Kia was found abandoned at the Wyckoff Houses on Third Ave., about five blocks away from where Celis was shot.
Surveillance cameras and witness accounts helped cops identify a person of interest, who’s being sought, police said.
Relatives said Celis had fallen on hard times in recent years and believe he was walking to or from a local shelter when the shots rang out.
Solis said Celis had worked as a limousine driver, a taxi driver and a handyman, but struggled in recent years , the sister said.
“He lived with my mother and then he was in shelters when this happened,” Solis said. “Despite him being in shelters, during this time, he was still in touch with us.
“You have to understand that he had everything before, and then he lost it like two years ago. So we had to be hard on him and he started living in shelters as he got himself back together — and then this happened. He was finally going back to who he was. He was changing and recovering.”
Celis was a hardworking and generous man who loved to dance and be around his family, relatives said. A painful divorce led to depression, yet Celis was on the rebound, they said.
“He had a broken heart, and when people turn their back on you, things get rough,” said Celis’ niece, Lauren Celis, 38. “He fell into depression. He was someone who was all about family. He went through divorce and that’s when I noticed a change in him and he started to lose himself. He started to feel isolated during the divorce. His family was so important and when that fell apart