Last week I went out. Same bar. It wasn't as crowded. Sunday night I think. I was talking and watching some of the customers cut up. This young guy in his twenties came up and was acting all funny like. I thought he was on dope or just one of the local kids on crack. The bartender told me he is always that way. Said he was homeless. I watched as he played his headphones and how everyone took a liking to him. He was cool I thought. He even came over and took my drink and cut up with me. The bartender gave me another, looking over it. It was just the way he was. I felt bad for him but what could I do. He was a bit on the mentle side. We laughed and cut up with him half the night. It was said he was homeless and was depressed because he hadnt seen his kid in a while. I came home and didn't think much of it. I felt sorry for him but what do I do.
Anyway when I got to the bar tonight I found out that a couple days later he was struck by a car and killed not far from where we were cutting up a few nights before. That just blew my mind. I felt bad. But what topped it all off was the way everyone else in the bar was acting. They didn't care. I started to think to myself. Did anyone care? One person did. Me. I know he made wrong choices. Made some big mistakes. I don't know what kind of life he had . I don't know everything that happened to him in his life that led him to where he was that day but I felt really bad for him.
I pray you found peace. And I know you have a home now. You didn't know me very well but maybe someday when I get there you can take my drink and cut up with me again anytime.
The victim, a white male, had no identification with him. Investigators said the medical examiner's office would fingerprint him to try to identify him.
The accident happened about 8:40 p.m. on Lafayette Street near Fourth Avenue South.
A 76-year-old woman in a white Nissan Altima was driving outbound on Lafayette Street when the man stepped into the street, said Metro Officer Gregg Curtis of the Fatal Crash Investigation Team. Another woman and a witness told investigators that the man stepped off a sidewalk and darted out onto Lafayette Street.
''He just ran out in front of her,'' Curtis said. ''She tried to brake and swerve, but she hit him.''
Neither speed nor alcohol appeared to be a factor, police said.
The man was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Police were still investigating.
Age 26