Bicyclist killed on Newtown Pike had special connection with his neighbors

On any normal day, when Martiniano Pozos got home from work around 3:30 p.m., he would have been sitting on his porch, feeding tortilla chips to two squirrels he'd jokingly named Kathy and Ron after the managers of his apartment complex.

When he wasn't there with his squirrels Friday, neighbor Shaun Campbell became worried.

Pozos, 59, was riding his bicycle home, police say, when he was hit Friday by a driver who admitted he'd been "drinking all day." The trip between job and home was about 2 miles down busy Newtown Pike.

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"When I heard someone had been hit, I knew it was him," Campbell said. "I knew something was wrong because he was always out here" at that time.

Two days after the accident, several neighbors saw the squirrels waiting on Pozos' porch at about the time he would have been there.

Charged with manslaughter in Pozos' death is Jess E. Greathouse. He also has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident and driving under the influence. He pleaded not guilty Monday, according to WKYT. The police analysis of the accident wasn't yet complete Monday.

Pozos' Spanish-speaking friends called him Bigotes, which means "mustache" when interpreted in English.

His English-speaking neighbors in Lincoln Terrace Apartments off Newtown Pike always called him Cowboy because of the large cowboy hat he was rarely seen without.

Now the hat, which his friends retrieved from the crash site, rests on a teddy bear in a chair where Pozos used to sit outside in the complex. A candle, a picture of a cross and a can of Budweiser were around the bear, which wore a sign that read "Cowboy."

Pozos' neighbors remembered him Monday as a hard-working, funny man who would do anything for anyone.

He was well known for giving money to anyone who didn't have money to eat.

"He refused to take anything from anyone, even when invited," friend John LaMar Cole said. "He would give down to his last penny to other people, but he would never take a thing."

Children around the neighborhood loved Pozos, Campbell said. He kept a pack of popsicles in his freezer that he passed out to neighborhood kids.

Pozos was also the entertainer of the area, Cole said. It was not uncommon for him to put on an enormous sombrero with tassels and serenade neighbors with mariachi songs.

"He was a very happy person; he loved his music and he loved dancing," neighbor and close friend Jose Porales said. "He was basically one-man entertainment."

Friend Moises Perez said Pozos worked the same job for 17 years, molding parts at Interplex Plastics on Brentwood Court. Interplex officials confirmed Pozos was an employee but would not comment further.

"Martiniano was very responsible, a very hard worker and never missed work," friend and neighbor Karime Santos said.

He had lived in the same apartment for 17 years, office manager Kathy Gibson said.

"Every first of the month, he was right here with rent," she said. "He was never late."

Pozos spent the majority of his time out and about in his neighborhood, which made him a well-known part of the community.

After work, he normally could be found on someone's porch, just talking and having a beer, Cole said.

"I would get home from work and he would be sitting outside my house saying he was taking care of it," neighbor Maria Hidalgo said. "That was his routine every day."

Pozos never had a problem with anyone and did not discriminate against anyone when it came to making friends, Porales said.

"He was a member of our family," Cole said. "He was a part of all of our families."

This story was originally published August 31, 2015 at 5:42 PM with the headline "Bicyclist killed on Newtown Pike had special connection with his neighbors."