Just after 1am on Sunday, Sandor Szabo left his brother's hotel room in Long Island City, Queens and stepped out into the New York night. The 35-year-old Florida resident had attended his stepsister's wedding earlier in the day, his family told the New York Daily News, and was trying to find his way back to his own hotel with a dead cellphone battery.
Instead, he ended up sprawled across on the sidewalk of an unfamiliar city. Two days later, he died of his injuries.
Sandor Szabo died from a one-punch attack on a New York street.
In a bulletin issued on Monday, the New York Police Department wrote that an unidentified individual in a white SUV had punched Szabo in the face "following a confrontation". Szabo fell backward, hitting his head against the concrete pavement. He was transported to the hospital in critical condition.
Dominic Szabo, 33, told the Daily News that his brother had knocked on the window of the parked four-wheel-drive, likely because he thought it was an Uber or a taxi. Police also told the paper that Szabo may have been drunk at the time, which likely compounded his confusion.
The driver allegedly responded by getting out of the car and punching him the face.
An anonymous 17-year-old witness told a local TV station station that he helped the 4WD's driver to prop Szabo upright before the ambulance came, so that he would stop choking on his own blood. But before the paramedics showed up, the driver had fled the scene.
A man wanted by police in relation to the death of Sandor Szabo.
Police released surveillance footage on Monday that they say shows the assailant and his car. The suspect has been described as a bald, dark-skinned male in a light-colored button-down shirt and jeans.
On Tuesday, local station CBS 12 reported that Szabo had died. His employer, What If Media Group, confirmed the news on Wednesday morning.
"Sandor was a well-known and well-respected leader in the digital marketing industry," the company wrote in a Facebook post. "He lived in Boca Raton with his brother, but spent a lot of time in our Fort Lee, New Jersey office. He was critical in helping our company's recent rapid growth, and was very proud that we were selected as one of the fastest growing companies on the Inc 5000."
Szabo was "always upbeat, positive, kind and caring," and had loved fishing and cooking, the post said.
According to Szabo's LinkedIn profile, he held a variety of sales and marketing jobs in Florida and North Carolina before being hired as the VP of Sales for What If Media Group. He also listed volunteer positions with Forgotten Soldiers Outreach, Inc., a Florida group that sends care packages to military service members, and the Making Magic Alliance, a North Carolina-based organisation that provided summer camp scholarships to underprivileged children.
His brother told the Daily News that Szabo was "the most loving and kind individual anyone could have as a friend".
With crime at a record low in New York City, the seemingly random act of violence shocked some residents of Long Island City, which is usually associated with glassy apartment towers and rapid development. The real estate website StreetEasy describes the neighborhood as "sterile" and "corporate", a haven for young professionals seeking luxury housing.
"Never in a million years thought that would've happened, especially over here," James Hall, a neighborhood resident, told CBS12.
The NYPD's 108th Precinct, which covers Long Island City, reported zero murders last year – a significant drop from 1990, when 16 people were killed. But not everyone feels secure.
"Our road is basically new hotel, new hotel, then abandoned places, so it's just a process of gentrification and converting," Cloe Lui, who lives in the area, said. "It'll take some time to be more safe."
Washington Post
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