Video shows road rage lead to deadly stabbing of innocent bystander in the Bronx
NEW YORK -- Family members of an innocent young father stabbed to death in the Bronx are calling for justice after they say he was killed for simply witnessing a road rage incident.
The victim's sister told CBS New York the suspect should turn himself in.
Friends started to leave candles Wednesday for 29-year-old Ronald Gomez-Mesa, who they say was loved and well known in the Morris Heights neighborhood. They said he was just hanging out on Tuesday afternoon when he got caught in the middle of a road rage incident he wasn't even involved in.
"Now we're not gonna see him again," Gomez-Mesa's sister said, overcome with grief. "We're not gonna see him smile. We're not gonna see him laugh. Daughter is not gonna enjoy her father. We're never going to be able to see him at all and that's so unfair."
Video shows a chaotic scene
Police said it all started at around 4:30 p.m. Surveillance video shows a woman involved in a car crash holding a bat. Witnesses say she called her boyfriend, who showed up angry. A man on a scooter across the street is then seen throwing a bottle at the boyfriend before riding off.
Police said the boyfriend got enraged and went after a different man sitting on a scooter, punching and assaulting him. Another man, who family members said was Gomez-Mesa, is seen on the footage getting up to defend the man. The boyfriend is then seen running at Gomez-Mesa.
"He went up to him and started hitting him for no reason. He wasn't even part of that," Gomez-Mesa's sister said.
"The lady involved in the accident made a phone call to a person. This person just came here stabbing people, punching people without asking who is who. Senseless," a witness added.
Police said the scuffle escalated and ended in front of Rainbow Day Care, where investigators say Gomez-Mesa was stabbed in the chest. He was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police are still searching for the man responsible. He was last scene running towards West Burnside Avenue, wearing all black and a pair of red Crocs.
"This was a really good guy"
The witness added Gomez-Mesa was in the "wrong place at the wrong time," adding, "How can I put it? You know when somebody pass? They say he was a good person. This was a really good guy."
His family said they moved to New York City in 2010 from the Dominican Republic for better opportunities, and now their lives have been shattered and a 3-year-old girl is without a father.
"We really need justice for this. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve to be stabbed. He didn't deserve to die. Killed him for no reason," Gomez-Mesa's sister said.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.