It's not easy for the friends of Ibis Baez to reflect on his death on the Long Island Expressway service road, but nothing is easy for them now.
Dorian holder and Austin Ramos made a pilgrimage to the spot Baez died.
The 29-year-old was more than their roommate, more than their fishing buddy and so much more than their friend.
"Loved by everybody. Don't care if you knew him for five minutes, five years, 10 years... like loved by everybody," Holder said.
"He was always ready, or more than prepared for whatever was coming for him," Ramos said. "But when god calls, god calls."
It happened on Friday afternoon at the LIE service road on New Hyde Park Road.
Baez, on his motorcycle, somehow got into an argument with a driver in a pick-up truck, who cops say swerved, pinning Baez against a barrier. He didn't stand a chance.
Police arrested the driver, 64-year-old Brian Boll, in what they are calling a road rage homicide.
Prosecutors say Noll had a "verbal argument with Baez," during which Baez "used his hand to push the defendant's arm and or driver's side mirror. Noll then intentionally swerved left into the victim's motorcycle, and caused him to hit the guardrail, causing his death."
"I don't care how much road rage you have, you know it's a motorcycle. There's no protection," Holder said.
"Yeah a pick-up truck compared to a bike man, you tell me," Ramos said.
Noll was charged with second-degree murder.
On a busy roadway, there's now a monument dedicated to the best kind of friend.
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