LONGWOOD — A Bronx man struck and killed on an unregistered mini-bike after he made an illegal U-turn and slammed into a car was remembered by his family as humble, funny and great with kids, family members and police said.
Gene Ortiz was driving west down Westchester Avenue near Southern Boulevard two days after his 22nd birthday about 7:20 p.m. Jan. 9 when he made the maneuver, crossed the double yellow line into the eastbound lane and struck a 2011 Toyota Camry, NYPD officials said.
He suffered head trauma and was in Lincoln Hospital until he died on Jan. 11, police said.
The Camry driver, a 65-year-old man whose name was not released, was not immediately charged with any crime, police said.
Jackelyn Classen, Ortiz's cousin, wiped tears from her eyes Wednesday as she remembered how he used to follow her around wherever she went, a habit she occasionally found annoying but also saw as extremely helpful and generous.
"If I went to the hair salon, he would keep the kids busy for me," she said. "He would never complain about anything. He was always very helpful."
Every child in the family loved playing with Ortiz, who lived nearby on Southern Boulevard, and they used to come over to his place to do just that, Classen said.
Ortiz's aunt Nydia Latimer agreed that he had been great at dealing with the family's kids.
"He loved children," she said. "He played with all his cousins, including my niece and my daughter."
Ortiz had been thinking about going to get his G.E.D. so he could join the Navy, according to family members.
He did not have a steady job but would have been outside on Tuesday shoveling snow with his father, Latimer said.
Ortiz's cousin Juan Ortiz said that he missed him every day and described him as someone who did not need very much to be happy.
"He enjoyed the simplest things," he said. "He never asked for too much. He was very grateful."
