99-Year-Old Holocaust Survivor Jack Mikulincer Dies After Weekend Crash In Brooklyn
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A 99-year-old man who survived the Holocaust died over the weekend after he was hit by car in Brooklyn.
The tragedy happened as he was crossing the street in his wheelchair heading to synagogue, CBS2's Leah Mishkin reported Monday.
Jehuda Lindenblatt and Jack Mikulincer, his best friend of 40 years, saw each other every day. They were neighbors and confided in one another.
"I'm a Holocaust survivor. I went through a lot of things, and that was one of the biggest shocks in my life," Lindenblatt said.
The two were on their way to synagogue on Saturday afternoon. Mikulincer was crossing the intersection on Coleridge Street in an electric-powered wheelchair when he was hit by a car.
"I was about four feet away. If the car had come a little bit more then I wouldn't be here," Lindenblatt said.
Lindenblatt, 85 and an EMT, radioed for help. But he knew the man he considered a brother wasn't going to make it.
Lindenblatt stayed by Mikulincer's side at the hospital until the very end.
"I told them I'm not moving," he said.
Aviva Tucker rushed to the hospital when she heard what happened to her father. But it was too late. Mikulincer had passed away.
"He was a very, very kind, sweet, wonderful man," Tucker said.
He liked to paint. His artwork was is displayed along the walls of his home.
Mikulincer had two daughters, four grandchildren, and five great grandchildren. His wife died about a decade ago.
"He had a bakery on Brighton Avenue... My mother, she did the front of the bakery, my father did the back of the bakery," Tucker said.
Tucker's parents were from Czechoslovakia.
Lindenblatt said his friend was in Budapest in the beginning of the war. He said Mikulincer had to do the dirty work for the Hungarian army, so he escaped, hid for part of the war and used his ability to speak seven languages to translate for the Russian army.
"Later on the war was over, he went back Czechoslovakia, met his wife, and from there he went to Israel and fought in the Israeli War," Lindenblatt said.
"Then he went to Australia," Tucker said. "My mother missed her family, so they moved to New York."
Family and friends are sitting Shiva this week, the mourning period in Judaism. They are remembering a man who was loved by all.
The driver involved in the crash stayed on the scene and was not immediately charged with any crimes.
CBS2's Leah Mishkin contributed to this report.