A hard-working Brooklyn immigrant fatally struck by a motorist who fled the scene never got over his father being killed by a hit-and-run driver more than four decades ago, relatives said. Felix Mendez was crossing Lafayette Ave. just down the block from his Bedford-Stuyvesant home when he was hit by the driver of a white SUV about 3 a.m. Thursday, cops said. The driver kept speeding down Bedford Ave.after bowing the light, with Mendez’s body dragged for a half block, shocking surveillance footage obtained by the Daily News shows. Mendez, 49, was just 8 and still living in his native Mexico when he lost his father. His dad was bicycling to work early in the morning when he was run down by a hit-and-run driver. “He remembered somebody come to his house,” said Alejandro Flores, a friend of Mendez and his downstairs neighbor of 20 years, describing Mendez’s memories of his father’s shock death. “They tell his mom, your father is dead in the road.” That driver was never caught, Flores said. Mendez went on to be extremely cautious whenever he rode a bike, making sure to don reflective clothing and encouraging his friends to do the same. But Mendez was on foot when he popped out to Olive Tasty Deli down the block from his apartment shortly after coming home from work. HIs roommate believes he went to grab a sandwich, as he typically did after a long day at work. The victim worked six days a week, sometimes until 2 a.m., at a nearby restaurant and at a bar in Williamsburg. Surveillance footage shows Mendez exiting the deli carrying a white plastic bag before he attempts to cross Lafayette Ave. with the walk light and is struck. Mendez was taken to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital but could not be saved. A hit-and-run driver fatally struck Felix Mendez as he crossed a Brooklyn street early Thursday. Mendez was hoping to return to Mexico in the next few years to live out his days as a pig farmer. He had already bought a plot of land and started having a home built there. “It’s sad,” said Flores. “He always say, ‘I have to go back to Mexico.'” The victim immigrated to New Jersey in 1998 before relocating to the Bronx and finally in 2002 landing in the Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment he shared with his nephew and with Flores’ son. Felix Mendez (4th from left) during his 47th birthday party in March 2022. His nephew, Francisco Mendez, is pictured 2nd from left). The nephew began frantically calling his uncle’s cell phone Thursday morning when he realized Mendez hadn’t returned home. It wasn’t until 6:25 p.m. that evening he received a call from a cop who broke the news about his uncle’s death. “He’s been through a lot,” said Gregory Flores, Alejandro’s 18-year-old son who lived with the victim. “He was [a] great guy. He was always looking out for me and my three siblings.” A hit-and-run driver fatally struck Felix Mendez as he crossed a Brooklyn street early Thursday. (Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News) Mendez had been struggling, the younger Flores noted. His mother’s death 15 years ago had left Mendez parentless and his four siblings all still live in Mexico. His 20-year-old son lives on the West Coast with the son’s mother. But he was committed to caring for his son even though he and his son’s mother had been separated for a long time. “He always called [his son],” Alejandro Flores said. “He always send money. He always never forget. He never forget.”. Victim Felix Mendez with his son. Police are still searching for the SUV driver. “Hopefully it was a mistake,” the younger Flores added. “I hope he just comes out and says that he’s sorry. If you kill somebody you might feel guilty. You can’t live with that.” Mendez’s son still doesn’t know about his father’s death. His mother is waiting for the son to return from out of town before breaking the news. Alejandro Flores said he will likely be reminded of his friend, an avid runner, when the New York Marathon is held. “When the marathon passes here in New York we always sit there and we watch,” he said. “We always say, ‘We wanna run next year.’ But we’re always working.”