Hundreds are expected to gather Tuesday to mourn the 7-year-old boy killed when an SUV smashed into a fast-food restaurant last week.
The wake for Ethan Villavicencio, of the Bronx, is being held Tuesday at Balsamo Funeral Home. The owner of the home is covering the costs of the little boy's funeral, which will be held Wednesday at St. Michael's Church on Co-op City Boulevard in the Bronx, the home told NBC 4 New York.
Villavicencio, of the Bronx, was sitting at a booth in Kennedy Fried Chicken on Westchester Avenue in Pelham Bay with his 5-year-old sister and 34-year-old father Thursday when the SUV reversed into the storefront, shearing off the front bumper of a car parked outside along the way.
The driver sat inside the SUV for about 30 seconds as people banged on his window and yelled that there were children underneath the car, the restaurant owner and other witnesses told NBC 4 New York. The driver never got out of the car, and then he drove off westbound on Westchester Avenue.
Meanwhile, bystanders rushed to help the children. One man, Noel Lopez, said some of them had to lift a table to get the girl out. He said he feared the worst and "thought her legs were gone."
The 5-year-old girl would ultimately be OK, as would her father; she suffered injuries to her arm and he had cuts on his head. Villavicencio was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Witness Shawkie Elgedawe and another man chased after the driver, writing down the license plate number on his hand in case the driver got away. They were able to catch up briefly before the driver got away a second time. The men flagged down traffic enforcement agents stopped at a red light, and the officers caught up with the driver at Continental Avenue, police and the witnesses said.
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The driver, 73-year-old Kwasi Oduro, was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of a deadly accident. At his arraignment Friday, the judge granted a $10,000 bail requested by Oduro's defense, who said their client had a clean record and close ties to the community. His church and family were at court Friday to support him and pay his bail.
Oduro's lawyer didn't immediately return a call from the Associated Press after court last week.
