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Though he refrained from drinking, Antonio Andrés Labariega died on an errand to get beer for his friends.
On Wednesday night, the 48-year-old Mexican migrant worker was struck by an SUV on Route 5. He was pronounced dead shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday at Prince George's Hospital Center.
As of Friday night, Maryland State Police had been unable to notify his sister and two children in Mexico.
"We're still trying to do notification of next of kin," Trooper 1st Class Fuentes Bouknight said. "When you're dealing with undocumented persons, it's sometimes hard to bring these cases to some closure."
Labariega's 18-speed bicycle, appearing unscathed by the accident, sat unclaimed Thursday at the state police La Plata Barrack. Also unspoken for was the $16 police found in his Army-green nylon wallet, which carried the inscription U.S.A. in fading yellow letters.
Inside the wallet were three forms of identification, which explained some of the difficulty police were having reaching his relatives.
A Mexican identification card bore Labariega's real name. An alien registration card carried his photograph and the name "Fidel," followed by his real last name. The number on the card, police said, corresponded to a woman who was recently deported from the United States.
In his knapsack, police found a shattered 20-ounce bottle of Budweiser beer, along with a six-pack of the same brand.
José Guadalupe Pérez, one of his three roommates, learned about Labariega's death Thursday afternoon, when troopers visited the housing unit in Hughesville where he had lived.
"He never drank, he never smoked," Pérez said, with a forlorn gaze. "He volunteered to go out and get the beer because his bike was the fastest one."
The quarters where he lived, behind a warehouse on Route 5, lodge migrant workers who travel through the country from one town to another.
On Wednesday night, as some of the men were preparing dinner, Labariega rode his bike to the Lighthouse Liquor store, just south of the county line in St. Mary's.
At 8:20 p.m., he leaned his bicycle against the brick wall in front of the store and walked in wearing black pants, a white shirt and donning a cap backward -- his arrival recorded on the store's security camera.
He paid $6.26 for the beer, put the change in his wallet and walked out of the store eight minutes later.
Police believe that about 9 p.m., as he was riding north on the shoulder of the southbound side of Route 5, Labariega decided to veer toward the northbound lanes. He rode into the path of a 1996 GMC Jimmy SUV.
No charges were filed in the accident, and police said the driver, David Russell, 30, was not speeding or under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash.
At the migrant quarters, where the men fell asleep Wednesday night waiting for Labariega to return with the beer, the only traces he left behind were two T-shirts, a pair of pants and a green blanket he had borrowed from Pérez.
Pérez said Labariega had come to Maryland on a whim.
When a group of migrants were leaving South Carolina two weeks ago, they met Labariega on the road. The driver invited him to join them, telling him that this summer's season of cucumber and squash seemed promising in Maryland.
Labariega asked if they could return to the camp for his belongings, Pérez recalled, but the driver decided not to, because they were running late.
"He just hopped on," Pérez said, leaving all his things behind.
Pérez said Labariega sometimes spoke about his sister, who takes care of the two children he left behind in Mexico. Labariega sent them money every month, Pérez said, which was the family's main source of income.
Manuel Valencia, one of Labariega's bosses in South Carolina, said in a telephone interview that Labariega's belongings had been thrown away by his former roommates, who figured he would not return to get them.
"He was a funny guy," Valencia recalled. "No one really called him by his name. We all called him el payaso."
The clown.
© 2003 The Washington Post Company
On Wednesday night, the 48-year-old Mexican migrant worker was struck by an SUV on Route 5. He was pronounced dead shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday at Prince George's Hospital Center.
As of Friday night, Maryland State Police had been unable to notify his sister and two children in Mexico.
"We're still trying to do notification of next of kin," Trooper 1st Class Fuentes Bouknight said. "When you're dealing with undocumented persons, it's sometimes hard to bring these cases to some closure."
Labariega's 18-speed bicycle, appearing unscathed by the accident, sat unclaimed Thursday at the state police La Plata Barrack. Also unspoken for was the $16 police found in his Army-green nylon wallet, which carried the inscription U.S.A. in fading yellow letters.
Inside the wallet were three forms of identification, which explained some of the difficulty police were having reaching his relatives.
A Mexican identification card bore Labariega's real name. An alien registration card carried his photograph and the name "Fidel," followed by his real last name. The number on the card, police said, corresponded to a woman who was recently deported from the United States.
In his knapsack, police found a shattered 20-ounce bottle of Budweiser beer, along with a six-pack of the same brand.
José Guadalupe Pérez, one of his three roommates, learned about Labariega's death Thursday afternoon, when troopers visited the housing unit in Hughesville where he had lived.
"He never drank, he never smoked," Pérez said, with a forlorn gaze. "He volunteered to go out and get the beer because his bike was the fastest one."
The quarters where he lived, behind a warehouse on Route 5, lodge migrant workers who travel through the country from one town to another.
On Wednesday night, as some of the men were preparing dinner, Labariega rode his bike to the Lighthouse Liquor store, just south of the county line in St. Mary's.
At 8:20 p.m., he leaned his bicycle against the brick wall in front of the store and walked in wearing black pants, a white shirt and donning a cap backward -- his arrival recorded on the store's security camera.
He paid $6.26 for the beer, put the change in his wallet and walked out of the store eight minutes later.
Police believe that about 9 p.m., as he was riding north on the shoulder of the southbound side of Route 5, Labariega decided to veer toward the northbound lanes. He rode into the path of a 1996 GMC Jimmy SUV.
No charges were filed in the accident, and police said the driver, David Russell, 30, was not speeding or under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash.
At the migrant quarters, where the men fell asleep Wednesday night waiting for Labariega to return with the beer, the only traces he left behind were two T-shirts, a pair of pants and a green blanket he had borrowed from Pérez.
Pérez said Labariega had come to Maryland on a whim.
When a group of migrants were leaving South Carolina two weeks ago, they met Labariega on the road. The driver invited him to join them, telling him that this summer's season of cucumber and squash seemed promising in Maryland.
Labariega asked if they could return to the camp for his belongings, Pérez recalled, but the driver decided not to, because they were running late.
"He just hopped on," Pérez said, leaving all his things behind.
Pérez said Labariega sometimes spoke about his sister, who takes care of the two children he left behind in Mexico. Labariega sent them money every month, Pérez said, which was the family's main source of income.
Manuel Valencia, one of Labariega's bosses in South Carolina, said in a telephone interview that Labariega's belongings had been thrown away by his former roommates, who figured he would not return to get them.
"He was a funny guy," Valencia recalled. "No one really called him by his name. We all called him el payaso."
The clown.
© 2003 The Washington Post Company