HARLEM — A man who was lying in the middle of the road Tuesday night was fatally hit by an SUV that then fled, police said.
Christopher Costa, 36, who had spoken to his brother just 30 minutes earlier, lay down in the middle lane of Madison Avenue just south of East 115th Street about 9:52 p.m. when the northbound gray SUV hit him and kept driving, NYPD officials said.
"The guy was on the floor. A couple people were around him waiting for the ambulance," said Alex Guerrero, 43, who lives nearby.
"There was a lot of blood. It was unsettling," Guerrero added.
It wasn't immediately clear why Costa was lying in the roadway, police said. His brother, Eddie Costa, 39, said he had been crossing the street.
Video of the intersection shows a car pass to reveal Costa's body lying in the street. Eight vehicles pass his body before traffic comes to a halt and someone runs out from the sidewalk to help.
Note: This video playback briefly pauses before continuing at its regular pace.
The victim, who lived nearby on Fifth Avenue and hoped to get into construction, was pronounced dead at Mt. Sinai Hospital, police said.
"He was a wonderful person, a brother who'd give you the shirt off his back. He just liked to be around family," the brother said.
"He was a perfect person. He wasn't dominant. This place wasn't good enough for him," his brother said.
The family was left reeling after the man's death, the brother said.
"We're holding up. It's going to take time. He'll be really missed," his brother said.
The driver was still at large as of Wednesday morning, police said.
"I really don't have any words for the driver. I don't know if him staying would've made any difference. It was a freak accident to my knowledge," the victim's brother said.
"I don't know. I'm not a person to hate. My brother's in a better place now," he added.
The victim's sister, however, was outraged that the driver hit him and kept going.
"This is the worst feeling I've endured," Jessica Costa said through tears.
"Even if it were a deer or a possum in the street, you'd stop and say, 'Oh, my car is damaged.' Who would do something like that?" she added.
Costa's death came just four days after Kenya Flores was fatally hit while lying in a bus lane near Stuy Town. Police wouldn't say why she was lying in the street.
The taxi driver who hit her, John Bangura, 68, was charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash, police said.
