Flowers are taped to a tree, and lit candles sit below at the site where 80-year-old Peter Morris, a Vietnam veteran, was killed. He parked his car after a school Veterans Day ceremony in Farmingdale on Long Island, New York.
A mother stood with her two young daughters, both students at Woodward Parkway Elementary, staring at the spot where Morris was struck.
“It is such a big loss for all of us,” she told Military.com. “We were dropping flowers to let them know we are thinking of them.”
Police said that Morris was getting into his 2012 Hyundai after attending his granddaughter’s Veterans Day ceremony when a stolen 2013 Nissan slammed into him outside the school. He suffered critical injuries and was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators said the driver ran and was chased down by officers minutes later. The suspect was identified as Randy Colon, 24, of Hicksville.
He is charged with second-degree manslaughter, leaving the scene, grand larceny, and criminal possession of stolen property.
Family Holds Candlelight Vigil
A small vigil formed after sunset where family members shared stories and remembered Morris.
His grandson, also named Peter Morris, stood wearing his grandfather’s Vietnam veteran hat.
“He was always there for me,” he told Military.com. “He was a proud Vietnam veteran. I’m proud to wear this hat for him.”
He added that his grandfather pushed through a difficult childhood and still built a strong, loving family.
“He had every right not to be the man he was,” he said. “Every moment I spent with him was great.”
Morris’ daughter, Suzanne, recalled the veterans ceremony at the school. She told the story of how her father noticed the flag erected in his honor in the “Field of Honor” with a mistake. It listed the wrong branch of service.
“He saw the flag, and it said Navy,” she told Military.com. “So, he took a Sharpie and fixed it to say ‘Army.’ That’s his handwriting out there.”
She said Morris smiled throughout the school ceremony.
“He sat in the front row. Kids thanked him. He was smiling from ear to ear,” she added.
Morris’s sister, Rose Dowd, said the loss has devastated the family.
“He was my brother, my best friend,” Dowd said. “He lost his wife five months ago and that broke his heart, but he had his grandchildren. He was well loved.”
She said he was proud of his service and always wore his hat signifying his service, even to church.
“He was very proud of it. People would come up to him in restaurants and thank him,” she said. “He never had a bad word for anybody.”
His grandson, Peter, shared a story the family just learned. After Vietnam, Morris gave his medal and a round to a local kid in the Bronx. Years later, that now-grown man is sending it back.
“He didn’t need the symbolic value. He just gave it away,” Peter said. “And the man kept it all these years. He never forgot my grandfather.”
A Community Grieves
Neighbors and the community are feeling the loss as well. People have been laying flowers and flags in front of the school. Some cried at the curb where Morris was struck.
“It is terrible,” one parent said. “It is going to hurt for a long time.”
Neighbors described Morris as a quiet gentleman.
“I was shocked,” said neighbor Michael Salvia. “[I] say hello, talk to him. Very nice man. A perfect gentleman.”
Salvia said Morris recently lost his wife and still flew his American flag, calling it a “terrible misfortune” where the victim was simply at the “wrong place at the wrong time.”
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