By KIMBERLY ACEVEDO
No arrests have been made, according to Nassau's Fourth Squad Homicide Det. Robert Depietro. But the altercation is under investigation, he noted.
"There were people out there [that saw it], people that are going to be spoken to," Depietro said.
While on his way to work at Minnesota's on Sunday at 5 a.m., Hernandez and another male engaged in what was considered a mutual altercation, Depietro said.
When Hernandez arrived at work, his left eye was swollen, several co-workers said. Employees described Hernandez as a hard worker and said they, "just wanted to make sure that he [Hernandez] was all right."
"We put him in a cab, got him to the hospital and we found out the next morning what happened," one worker mentioned.
Long Beach Medical Center would only say that Hernandez was listed in critical condition. Depietro said that the hospital found his injuries to be far more serious than they had at first seemed to be.
"He was injured," Depietro said. "He went to he hospital and they found that his brain was bleeding."
But, Depietro added, it wasn't yet clear if the bleeding was a direct result of the altercation.
Hernandez is a native of California and had been working at Minnesota's as a porter, several Minnesota's employees said. He lived near Roma Italian Delicatessen, where Christopher Roma described Hernandez as "a nice man."
"He was a good person, I never saw him bother anybody," he said. "Everybody around here is praying for him."
