The 23-year-old Queens BMW driver cops say was fatally struck by a drunk FDNY firefighter had a degree in aeronautics and was on his way to work when he was killed, according to friends and family.
Justin Diaz had just left his family’s home when the Mercedes-Benz driver barreled through an East Elmhurst.intersectoin about 4:15 a.m. Wednesday, T-boning Diaz’s BMW, shocking footage obtained by the Daily News shows.
Diaz was headed to his job at LaGuardia Airport, loved ones said.
“He was a good kid on his way to work and one bad decision that someone made affected so many lives,” a 46-year-old family friend said, adding that Diaz worked handling luggage for an airline. “It was just unnecessary.”
The friend, who asked that her name not be used, has known the victim since he was 6.
“He had a bright future. He comes from a great family. He’s a good kid, a good solid kid and it’s such a devastating tragedy,” she said. “Such a funny kid. He had a lot going for him.”
“My heart is broken for the whole family. It’s just terrible,” she added, choking up. “It’s an awful situation no parent should ever have to go through.”
Michael Pena, a 28-year-old off-duty firefighter, was arrested at the scene and charged with vehicular manslaughter, DWI and refusing to take a breath test.
An attorney representing Diaz’ family said his parents were too grief-stricken to speak to reporters.
“Understandably, my client is having a hard time even talking to me,” attorney David Zwerin said of Diaz’s father Franklin Diaz. “You can’t imagine the grief. They loved their son. It sounds like he was a very amazing person. They’re broken today.”
Diaz leaves behind his parents, an older brother and a younger sister.
On Thursday, relatives shed tears and embraced outside the family’s home just two blocks away from the scene of the deadly crash. Three prayer candles burned on a ledge near their front door.
Diaz’s aunt Marisela Diaz said her nephew was a “great kid” who had just graduated from Vaughn College in Queens with a degree in aeronautics, Gothamist reported on Wednesday.
“He was a wonderful human being,” Diaz’ 28-year-old sister-in-law told the Daily News. “He had a really good heart. He had so much life still.”
A GoFundMe created by Diaz’s coworkers to cover funeral expenses surpassed its goal of $20,000 in less than 24 hours.
“Having someone like him to work with made the day go by faster,” wrote the fundraiser’s creator, Martha Zambrano. “He was a caring and amazing friend, always checking on others.”
Meanwhile, Pena’s arraignment in Queens Criminal Court was pending Thursday.
Roughly two dozen people showed up to support Pena, standing in a circle just outside the courtroom Thursday morning.
One woman, who declined to speak to a Daily News reporter, addressed the rest of the group, saying it, “feels like a prayer circle.”
“I would like to just take a moment and put out some good energy,” she said.
The woman told the others she wanted “the best outcome for a bad situation unfortunately. That we also take a moment to give thought to the young gentleman who lost his life.”
“Put out good energy,” she said of the victim. “Put your heart forward … and just put out positivity.”
Shortly after making these remarks, Pena’s supporters posed for a group picture and were later admonished by the courtroom bailiff, who said no pictures were allowed outside the courtroom.
Surveillance footage shows Diaz, behind the wheel of a BMW, driving north on 107th St. As he approaches Northern Blvd., the sound of a fast-moving car grows louder. Seconds later, the speeding Mercedes comes into the frame and plows into the driver’s side of the BMW. The two cars then spin out of control towards 108th St., where the wrecked BMW crashes into a parked Toyota Sienna minivan.
The video does not show the traffic light but the pedestrian signal clearly shows the flashing hand and countdown clock, signaling it was safe for pedestrians to cross Northern Blvd. The victim entered the intersection with just two seconds left on the pedestrian countdown clock.
Pena sat behind the wheel of his crashed Mercedes before getting out, crossing the street, and approaching the wrecked BMW, the video shows.
As Pena opened the driver’s door of the BMW apparently to check on Diaz, a bystander screams, “Yo, n—a! Why you speeding, n—a?”
“Why the f— you speeding?” The witness asks again. “You almost hit me!”
After briefly inspecting the BMW, Pena returns to his car, retrieves his phone, and makes a call, the video shows.
As the crash drew more onlookers, two men rushed to assist Diaz. One of them asks, “You good, buddy?” before urgently telling nearby bystanders and Pena, who was already on the phone, to call 911.
Medics rushed Diaz to Elmhurst Hospital but he could not be saved.
Pena, who was uninjured in the crash, was handcuffed at the scene, cops said.
He will be suspended from his job without pay for 28 days while an investigation takes place, FDNY officials said.
Two passengers in the Mercedes, both also 28-year-old men, were taken to Elmhurst Hospital and are expected to recover.
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