30-year-old Island Park mechanic is killed in hit-and-run

Dodanim Emanuel “Manny” Chavez, of Island Park, was loading boxes into his truck, getting ready to start his new life with his family, when it was cut short.

“We bought a new home in Island Park, so he was getting into the truck when he was struck and landed on the floor,” his widow, Laura said. “The driver didn’t stop and we then later found he was dead.”

She added, “He was an auto mechanic and a loving husband and father. He loved cars, especially antique cars, and he loved tinkering with engines and transmissions. We were looking forward to making a new life together, but unfortunately that didn’t happen.”

The Nassau County Police Department Homicide Squad arrested Corey Henson, 31, of Centereach, and charged him with leaving the scene of the fatal hit-and-run on July 11 in Island Park.

According to the police, at 9:07 p.m., Chavez, 30, of Island Park, was struck by a vehicle driven by Henson that was traveling south on Long Beach Road, north of Marina Place. Police said that Henson did not stop.

Chavez suffered severe trauma, police said, and was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Eugene Small, who worked at Sunny’s Transmission, next door to Chavez’s shop, NYS Limitless auto repair, at 3375 Lawson Blvd. in Oceanside, said they started off as coworkers and later became friends.

“He was a mechanic and I’m a mechanic,” Small said, “and I’m a little more experienced than him, and he would always seek me out for advice and the best way to do something, and he was always willing to learn and a very quick learner. He and I would have competitions where we would do the same job, and he would try to do it the same way I did but better than me, because I had more time in the industry.”

Although Chavez was less experienced than Small, he quickly impressed him. “He had a good business attitude, and instead of doing one thing at a time, he would do multiple things at a time,” Small said. “There were other shops around who would ask for him to come do some work at their shop, and he even started doing a little construction and dumpster business on the side to help him get some money for his new home.”

Small added that he could always depend on Chavez. “If you ever needed a ride, or asked, could you do this or that, he would never say no,” Small said. “For a young person, he was very helpful. He was anyone you could ever want as a family member or a friend.”

Small described Chavez as a very mellow, family-oriented man. “We were supposed to go fishing one day, and then he called me and said he couldn’t go because he had to go home to his family,” Small said. “He wasn’t a drinker, and he never got upset and never had an argument or disagreement with anyone, and he never even cursed. He was a very decent person.”

And though Chavez wasn’t a drinker, he was a foodie. “He loved his food,” Small said. “Every time lunchtime rolled around, he always made sure he stopped and had his lunch. My wife is a big baker — she always bakes cakes and cookies — and I would always bring it to Manny because he had a sweet tooth.”

Chavez may be gone, but his spirit lives on around the shop. “Every time I look around, I still see him,” Small said. “He had a Snap-On jacket. He was the only one in the shop who had a Snap-On jacket and the only one who dry-cleaned his jacket. He was a very neat and clean person, and the jacket is still hanging in the plastic from the cleaners in the office, and his big blue toolbox is still there, because his wife hasn’t come to pick it up yet.”

The investigation is continuing. Police ask that anyone with information about the crash contact Crime Stoppers at (800) 244-8477. All calls are confidential.

A funeral service for Chavez was held on Sunday at Christopher T. Jordan Funeral Home in Island Park, and a prayer service was held that evening at the funeral home.

Those interested in making a donation to help the family may do so at BIT.ly/3uSNTKf.