No Time for a Last Goodbye

Like clockwork, Refugio Martinez left his Bible study class at 8:30 p.m. and began the two-block walk to his apartment in Fullerton--a stroll he had taken each Monday for two years.

But as he crossed Orangethorpe Avenue dressed in his good gray suit, the 72-year-old was hit in rapid succession by three cars, tossing him across the busy street. None of the drivers stopped to check on Martinez, outraging police who have opened a criminal investigation into his death.

None of the drivers were there to see Martinez’s favorite Bible land next to him on the pavement or see his wife race to him in a vain attempt to say one last goodbye.

“This is very, very disturbing,” Fullerton Police Sgt. Joe Klein said. “You have an elderly man, a senior citizen, walking home in his own neighborhood struck by three vehicles and nobody stops. This is a horrible thing. As a motorist you have an obligation to stop if you hit anything, even a rock in the road.”

The incident occurred as Martinez crossed southward along Orangethorpe near Woodcrest Park between Ray and Richman avenues. There was no crosswalk at the intersection, but police said he was legally allowed to cross there. Witnesses told police that a Toyota Corolla was the first to hit him. The impact sent Martinez into the opposite lanes, where two more cars slammed into him. He was dragged 50 yards.

About 15 minutes after the incident, the driver of the Toyota returned. He indicated that “he thought he had hit something, wasn’t certain, got home, thought he should do something and came back to the scene,” Klein said.

Police interviewed the man, impounded his car as evidence and are seeking the other two drivers. No charges have been filed pending the outcome of the investigation.

“This is a serious felony,” Klein said. “We could have a manslaughter case. We don’t know if his life could have been saved.”

At Martinez’s two-bedroom apartment, about a dozen relatives gathered Tuesday to cry, pray and offer condolences to his wife of 49 years.

Francesca Martinez, 68, said she learned of the incident almost immediately from a member of her husband’s Bible study class and got to the scene while his body still lay on the pavement.

“I wanted to run to him and say goodbye for the last time,” she said, “but the police wouldn’t let me. I didn’t get to say goodbye in person, so now it will only be through pictures.”

Relatives described Martinez as a retired handyman who arose every morning at 5:30 to collect cans in the neighborhood. He earned about $70 a week, which he shared with his seven grown children, 30 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Whatever money was left, they said, he spent on parts for the homemade bicycles he loved to build and ride.

“He loved to pull them apart for fun,” said his grandson Margarito Hernandez, 17, of Fullerton.

His other passion, the family said, was attending the Bible study classes.

Martinez’s wife said she holds no ill will toward those motorists who hit her husband, but wishes they had done something to help him.

“Someone should have stopped and helped him out,” Francesca Martinez said. “Whoever’s responsible, it’s OK. I’m not angry, because it won’t bring him back.”