By WSR Editorial Staff

On Tuesday, February 21, Jacobo Villano Pardo, a 33-year-old deliverista, died at Mount Sinai Morningside hospital after colliding on his e-bike with a bench on the Henry Hudson Parkway bike path at around 5 p.m., the Rag reported.

Itzel Espinobarros, a 17-year-old high school senior in the City College Academy of the Arts, heard about her uncle’s death around 10 p.m. It was she who organized a GoFundMe campaign for the family to raise money to return her uncle’s body to Mexico. We called her number, listed on the GoFundMe account. Espinobarros said her aunt, Cristina Ramírez — Jacobo’s wife — speaks no English, but she would act as our translator. Here is what we learned about this sad event.

Cristina Ramírez, 35, was the first to find out about the accident. She was buying groceries with her three children, Cristian, Eduardo and Juliette, aged 17, 11 and 1, when her husband stopped answering his phone, she told El Diario de los Deliveryboys en la Gran Manzana, a deliverista-led publication. Desperate, she frantically called him several times, trying to determine his whereabouts. “Eventually, a nurse called and told her what happened,” said Espinobarros. At first, Ramírez thought it would be a simple bike fall — she was devastated when the tragic truth hit her. “I never thought that would happen to me,” she said, before bursting into tears next to her son Eduardo, who was somberly holding a picture of his father. “Now I’m waiting for him and he’s not coming back.” 

Ramírez and Villano Pardo met in Mexico and migrated to the United States in 2006, said Espinobarrosl, to find a better life and support their families back home. Originally from the state of Guerrero, located on the Mexican Pacific coast, they settled in Manhattan because of the economic opportunities. “New York is the place known as ‘The City of Dreams’,” said Espinobarros. “[They] came to work and make money for their families.” Residents of Harlem’s 145th Street, Ramírez is a homemaker while Villano Pardo worked as a deliverista because of the flexible working hours, allowing him to spend time with his loved ones. “[He] was a hard-working, caring person who always took time for his family and always found ways to give them his all,” Espinobarros said. 

Besides dealing with the grief of losing her longtime husband, Ramírez is also facing eviction from her apartment of 17 years. Despite having proof of paying rent, she said, the landlord has threatened them since at least 2011, showing up unannounced at their door claiming that they owed money and, allegedly, stealing their money orders. “They want to take me out of here,” Ramírez said. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Donations help a lot,” Espinobarros said. With the collected money, they want to send Villano Pardo’s body back to Tlapa de Comonfort, his Mexican birthplace, to “rest in peace in his homeland,” said Ramírez. Since Villano Pardo was the family’s breadwinner, Ramirez needs as much financial support as possible. So far, the campaign has raised $13,569 out of their $20,000 goal — but that’s mainly because one generous individual named Spencer Gilbert gave $10,000! 

Espinobarros would like to raise community awareness of her uncle’s death, spreading the campaign on social media. “I’ve been sharing the GoFundme to comments, articles [and] Facebook posts,” she said. A family man whose life was cut short by tragedy, Villano Pardo’s death leaves lasting pain for his family and immigrant community. For Espinobarros, it’s important that people remember him as a gentle, diligent, and loving person who never stopped fighting for his dreams. “He always had a smile on his face,” she said. “He always cared about other people.” 

You can access the GoFundMe here.