SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. ā A Kendall community is mourning after a beloved restaurant cook was killed in a hit-and-run.
āAfter 16 years that heās been away from his country ā not seeing his mother ā I think thatās what he deserves. At least that,ā says General Manager of Don Burrito in Kendall, Ivonne Aguilar.
Aguilar says 34-year-old Jose Piedra Perez, known as āChiquito,ā was known around the kitchen for being more than a coworker or a friend ā he was family.
āHe was a very outgoing person,ā she says. āVery nice. You would ask him for anything, and he would do it for you... anythingā
Chiquito was a cook there who loved his job. Then, tragedy struck him.
According to police, at 1:40 a.m. on Friday, May 14, a newer model Mercedes-Benz was traveling westbound on Southwest 72nd Street when the vehicle struck Chiquito while on his bicycle along on 109th Avenue and fled the scene in an unknown direction.
He was pronounced deceased on the scene.
āHe did not deserve this at all,ā says Aguilar in pain. āNot even an animal deserves what happened to him.ā
A donation jar now sits inside the restaurant. The restaurant has also set up a Facebook fundraiser.
Aguilar says Chiquitoās parents ā his sister and brother ā still live in Mexico, and sheās hoping to raise enough money to send their son ā their brother ā his body back home.
āSo the family can be together at least for his final goodbye,ā she says. āA sad, final goodbye. Thatās the least we can do.ā
To donate to their Facebook fundraiser, click here.