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Bicyclist hit, killed on daily commute

By ABHI RAGHUNATHAN
Published October 11, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - Despite long hours of work as a busboy, Horacio Barrera couldn't afford a car.

So the 40-year-old Mexican immigrant commuted on bicycle for years, pedaling 15 minutes between his small apartment on 70th Street N and the glitzy O Bistro restaurant on Central Avenue.

This Monday night, Barrera's commute ended in death.

A 1996 white Ford sport utility vehicle rammed into him as he pedaled across Pasadena Avenue near Central Avenue, police said. The driver didn't stop.

Several eyewitnesses saw the crash. It didn't take long for St. Petersburg police to arrest a suspect as he arrived at his Kenneth City home.

Richard S. Abramowicz, 25, faces one felony charge of leaving the scene of a crash involving death. He works at a local bowling alley and has a driving record that includes one recent speeding violation. Police say alcohol could have been a factor in the accident and are awaiting test results from a blood sample.

"It was a rather horrific crash," police spokesman Bill Proffitt said.

Barrera lived in a small apartment complex with close friends, including his companion Rosa Hernandez, 50. She and other relatives spent Monday night and Tuesday morning weeping.

"He was like a father for me" said Jose Martinez, 23, Hernandez's son and Barrera's roommate.

Barrera came to the United States on a visa about six years ago, leaving behind a wife and several children in a small town in the Mexican state of Guerrero, Martinez said.

He often sat outside on the front porch after coming home from work, looking out for neighborhood kids and listening to salsa music on a portable CD player. Soon, he found a makeshift family in his apartment complex that included Hernandez and Martinez.

"He loved kids," Martinez said. "He was very friendly with everyone in the neighborhood."

Barrera worked at a Mexican restaurant before going to work at O Bistro several years ago. On Tuesday, workers at O Bistro were trying to raise money to send Barrera's body back home to Mexico.

"We're not that big of a restaurant and all the employees work here for a long time and become members of a family," said Vlad Markov, O Bistro's general manager. "When something like this happens it's very hard to accept."

Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

[Last modified October 11, 2006, 01:24:08]