Minutes before his disabled car was rear ended in a hit and run crash that killed him, nightlife impresario Darryl Mathis Jr. was posting video to Instagram on the misfortune of being stranded on a Bronx expressway in the middle of the night.
“Had a great night tonight with the gang,” said Mathis, 39, who was on his way home to New Jersey from an event with rapper Rick Ross when he was killed about 3:30 a.m. Saturday.
”I’m trying to go home and my car dies while I’m on the highway. How the f–k am I in the Bronx and my car just died? You can’t make this s–t up. I just want to go home, yo. I just want to go home. I just want to go home.”
About 30 minutes later, Mathis was back on the phone, according to a friend, telling an associate that he had gotten hit from behind — and was in pain and couldn’t breathe.
“The battery died and he called up a few friends to let them know what was going on,” said Cornelius “Big Grim” Whitaker, a friend and business associate. “He called to get a jump, and after that, he got hit from behind, a hit-and-run. They were on their way to come give him a jump and he got hit waiting for them. And then he called to let them know, I’ve been hit. I can’t breathe. His friends called the ambulance when they arrived.”
The driver of the Mercedes-Benz who plowed into Mathis’ Ford sedan in the southbound lane of the Major Deegan Expressway has not been caught.
Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News
Cops investigate the hit-and-run crash on the Major Deegan Expressway early Saturday. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
“We lost a real one,” Ross posted on Instagram shortly after the crash along with a picture of Mathis.
Mathis’ Crown Victoria with New Jersey license plates was stuck near W. Fordham Road in University Heights about 3:45 a.m. when the Mercedes rear-ended him, cops said.
The mangled cars veered out of control and crashed on the highway, cops said. The Mercedes driver sped off and has not been caught.
Paramedics rushed Mathis to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he died.
Obtained by Daily News
Darryl Mathis, Jr. (center), known in the industry as “Maybach Swagg,” with friends Cornelius “Big Grim” Whitaker (right) and Abu Yasir Nash (left). (Obtained by Daily News)
Mathis, known in the industry as “Maybach Swagg,” had been working a late local gig with Ross, before calling it a night and heading to his Elizabeth, N.J., home, according to friends and social media posts.
“He loved his family, especially his daughter and friends,” DJ KIMU told the Daily News. “He gave back to his community, supported other peoples’ events and brands, not just his own.”
Friends said Mathis acquired the Maybach nickname because of his association with Ross, whose record label is Maybach Music Group.
Whitaker called Mathis, a Newark native, an urban legend who turned his life around after doing time as a young man.
“He experienced multiple challenges growing up in his household and surviving in the streets of Newark and unfortunately he was locked up and served his time,” Whitaker said. “When he came home, he was an influential impactful human being in the community. He would help everybody.”
Whitaker met Mathis about three years ago when Whitaker was making a comedy film, “Liquor Run.”
“I was looking for locations to shoot and at the time Darryl Mathis was very influential and resourceful in the night life,” Whitaker said.
Obtained by Daily News
Darryl Mathis, Jr. (Obtained by Daily News)
Mathis made much of his impact after dark, promoting nightclubs, performers and the products they endorsed.
Mathis was an ambassador for Ross’ champagne line, Belaire. He went around to hotspots in New York and New Jersey getting bottles of the bubbly placed in clubs and lounges.
“He was an amazing promoter,” Whitaker said. “He’s a legend. He’s a success story.”
Whitaker said Mathis wanted young people to learn from his early mistakes.
“A lot of people used to bring him in to speak to students who were involved in criminal life, in gang life, to let them know it’s not worth it,” Whitaker said. “To let them know the consequences of choosing that lifestyle.”
“He was so humble and down to earth,” he added. “He was like a local ghetto superstar.”
When he wasn’t trying to get kids on track he was trying to steer gang members into nightlife industry jobs.
“He’d always talk to gang members,” Whitaker said. “He’d always try to get them jobs and opportunities in the night life.”
With Liz Keogh
Originally Published:
