At Mis Viejos on Lehigh Avenue near Mascher Street in North Philadelphia, the annual Memorial Day celebration became a memorial of one.
Reinaldo Barreto, a regular at the bar, was struck and killed as he left his beloved bar early Sunday morning.
"Somebody said the car, the car, the car hit the man who sings, and he died," bar owner Maria Rojas said.
According to witnesses, the 77-year-old Barreto and his wife were dancing and singing as they did at Mis Viejos' most weekends, until the two, joined by their son and his wife, walked out together at closing time shortly after 2:00 a.m.
As the light turned green and he set foot in the street, friends say, a white truck drove straight through the red light, hitting Barreto and never slowing down.
"It just hit and ran. It did not stop, just kept on going," witness Olga Santiago said.
Mr. Barreto was hit with such force, witnesses say, that he was thrown into the air, landing 100 feet from where he was first struck; a makeshift memorial has now been set up where the hit and run took place.
With his picture hung behind the bar and in front of the stage at the celebration, patrons of Mis Viejos, who consider fellow patrons family, danced in Reinaldo Barreto's memory.
They shared stories of the man most knew simply by his last name, but nonetheless, counted him as a close friend.
Those who saw him die pledged to honor his life at this celebration every year.
Other than a vague description of the car in question as a white minivan or SUV, police have little to go on and are asking for any help the public can provide.
