Victim, witnesses say Juniata Park hit-run was no accident

THROUGHOUT their lives, Francis Arroyo protected his younger brother. That didn't change in his final moments.

"He took the harder hit," Osvaldo Arroyo, 41, said last night on the front steps of his home on Luzerne Street near I Street in Juniata Park. "I'm suffering, having lost my brother right next to me."

The stoop overlooks the street where Francis, 43, an ice-cream-factory worker, lost his life late Sunday to a callous driver who Osvaldo believes targeted his family.

"I don't think it was an accident, because of the way I was hit," Arroyo told the Daily News in Spanish.

He added that because there's a stop sign on Luzerne, the car should have been traveling more slowly. Instead, the gray Mitsubishi SUV plowed into the brothers at about 70 mph, he estimated.

And, witnesses told the People Paper last night, the SUV sped off but returned, apparently to try to hit the car again.

Police yesterday said it was too early in their investigation to say whether the crash was deliberate.

Before the collision, the Arroyo brothers had spent Sunday night as they spent a lot of nights: tinkering under the hood. Both mechanics, they loved to make a cranky engine purr.

Last weekend's work held more meaning than most: They were fixing up a handicapped-accessible minivan for Osvaldo's disabled stepson Jonathan.

As the hour grew late and the skies threatened rain, the brothers hopped into another car to deliver Francis to his home a few blocks away.

They never made it. About 10:40 p.m., just seconds after they pulled away from the curb, the SUV smashed into their sedan.

Its driver sped off as Francis lay dying and Osvaldo, with serious chest injuries, struggled to free himself from the wreckage.

Bianca Perez's mother and stepfather ran from their front porch to the ruined car and worked desperately to aid the men, said Perez, 26, who doesn't live on the block.

Neighbors who had witnessed the crash saw the SUV returning and tried to scare it off, waving and shouting, Perez said.

Ultimately it sped away, but a few determined bystanders gave chase in their own cars. They tailed it long enough to see its driver ditch it near 9th Street and Rising Sun Avenue.

Medics took the brothers to Temple University Hospital, where Francis was pronounced dead at 10:53 p.m., police said.

Yesterday, police announced that they'd recovered the hit-and-run driver's SUV where it had been abandoned. They were still hunting that individual last night.

Investigators determined that the SUV belongs to Alberto Vangas, 38, who lives near where it was found, said Capt. John Wilczynski, commander of the Accident Investigation Division.

Police yesterday were seeking Vangas to determine who was driving his car, which was in a police lot being dusted for fingerprints. Wilczynski asked the public to help find him, urging tipsters and anyone who witnessed the crash to call investigators at 215-685-3180.

Wilczynski declined to speculate on what had spurred the driver to flee.

It was the sixth fatal hit-and-run crash this year in Philadelphia, Wilczynski said. The city had three last year, and two in 2013, according to police data.

While investigators chased leads, the grieving Arroyo family spent yesterday visiting the morgue, preparing funeral arrangements for Francis.

It was difficult for Osvaldo Arroyo to discuss his brother, his emotions still raw.

He remembered Francis as a "calm" man. The two had immigrated to Philly from their native Puerto Rico in 1989, Arroyo said.

Francis loved to work with his hands, and held down a job in an ice-cream factory in Northeast Philly. When he could, he helped his younger brother and his wife care for their son.

He and his girlfriend were parents themselves, with two children ages 12 and 3.

"I just loved him very much," Arroyo said.

Compounding the grief last night was the fact that Jonathan's 4-year-old white poodle, Max, was missing.

Max had been in the car during the crash and disappeared in the chaos afterward. Someone at the scene picked up the dog, Arroyo said, assuring bystanders that he would take Max back to the Arroyos' house.

But as of last night, Max was still unaccounted for.

The poodle is crucial to the family's care of Jonathan, 12, who's deaf and legally blind and relies on a ventilator to breathe.

Max gives him some solace, as Jonathan responds best to touch.

"Have the heart and return him to me," Arroyo said last night in an appeal to the public.

All day, support poured in from friends and relatives.

"They're devastated," said Natalie Hall, a family friend. "We're praying and hoping for a miracle. We just want everybody's prayers for the healing process."

The Arroyos never hesitate to help others in need, from other families of disabled children to neighbors with a sputtering car engine, Hall added.

"They're just the nicest, most loving people," Hall said.

After the accident, Hall said, Osvaldo's wife, Ana, broke down in grief.

"If you could just hear those piercing, painful screams," Hall said. "She just collapsed in my arms. Oh God, if I could just wave a wand and make everything better . . . "

Last night, as the sun waned on Luzerne Street, Arroyo had a message for the driver who claimed his brother's life.

"Have a heart and turn yourself in; submit yourself to justice for everyone," he said.

"What would happen if this happened to you?"

Blog: phillyconfidential.com