Metro

Blind man dead in van horror

A blind Queens man who went out on an early morning stroll was struck and killed by a bread delivery van yesterday morning while crossing a dangerous road, police and family said.

Justin Murray, 49, who suffered from neuropathy in his leg, told his partner William Cedeno, 48, in their Kew Gardens home that he needed to take a walk after tossing and turning early Tuesday morning.

“I told him to wait until six when there’s daylight. He said no, I’m going out now, I’m an adult, you can’t tell me what to do. He’s right, you can’t tell a 49-year-old what to do,” said Cedeno. “He was his own person.”

Murray was crossing the intersection of Queens Boulevard, known as the “Boulevard of Death” for its many accidents, and 80th Road about 4 a.m. when a 2008 Chevy van heading east struck him. He died at Jamaica Hospital.

The 60-year-old driver was taken into police custody at the scene for a prior warrant for a traffic violation in 1997, but faces no charges from the accident, police said.

Alex Najjar, 41, who owns a newsstand near the intersection, said the victim’s shoes and cane were still lying in the street when he came to work.

“He [the driver] was just sitting in front of my stand crying like he couldn’t believe what happened,” said Najjar.

Murray was a neighborhood fixture, walking miles with a red-and-white walking stick for the blind, according to friends and neighbors.

Julio Alba, 56, a nearby deli owner, said Murray would stop by everyday to buy chocolate buns and joke around. “He would walk all over the place, sometimes all the way to Jamaica Avenue,” Alba said.

Cedeno said Murray went blind in 2001, and that the two were together for 18 years. The HIV-positive couple tried to take care of each other, making sure they had each taken their medicine.

“He was my life, he kept me going,” said Cedeno. “My worst fears have come true.”