West Haven Man Killed In Crash ‘Always Had A Smile On His Face’

WEST HAVEN, CT — The community is rallying around the family of a West Haven man who was killed in a recent hit-and-run crash while operating a scooter.

The New Haven Register reports Osvaldo Gonzalez-Hernandez, 49, has been identified as the victim of the hit-and-run crash, which happened in the area of First Avenue and Mix Avenue on Oct. 24.

Michael Avena, owner of We're Back Pizza in Orange, told the Register that Gonzalez-Hernandez began working with him at the former Abate's Pizza Boston Post Road in Orange, and made sure that he would return with him when he decided to open the new pizzeria in the same spot in 2023.

Avena recently launched a GoFundMe campaign to return Gonzalez-Hernandez’s body to his family in Mexico for a funeral.

“It’s with a heavy heart to say that we tragically lost our friend and employee, Osvaldo Gonzales,” Avena wrote in the post on the GoFundMe page. “Osvaldo has worked with us since 2011, a mainstay in our restaurant, a hard working man that always had a smile on his face bringing levity in a stressful environment. We need to get Osvaldo home to Mexico so he can be buried amongst his 4 children, grandchildren and his mother. Please help us get Osvaldo home.”

More than $2,600 has been raised in the first five days of the campaign, as of Monday morning.

For more information, or to make a donation, visit the GoFundMe page here.

Read the full story at the New Haven Register here.