Francisco Javier Ojeda had a family who loved him.
Despite his struggles with schizophrenia, he had found housing just a few blocks from his older brother and a job at Home Depot, where other employees thought highly of him.
He was adept at learning languages and was fluent in about six of them, including Mandarin Chinese, according to his brother Julio Ojeda-Zapata, who said Tuesday night he regrets that he didn't spend more time with Francisco.
Ojeda, 50, of St. Paul, was crossing the street Monday in Fridley when he was hit and killed by a car. The accident happened about 5:45 a.m. as Ojeda was headed to his job. He crossed University Avenue at 57th Avenue NE. against the walk signal. The car had a green light.
The driver, a 41-year-old Brooklyn Park man, stopped at the scene. Neither drugs nor alcohol appeared to have played a role in the crash, the State Patrol said.
Ojeda-Zapata, 54, a Pioneer Press reporter, said he and his siblings grew up in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Ojeda-Zapata came to Minnesota to attend St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn.; his younger brother followed him into St. John's.
But Ojeda's mental illness surfaced and manifested itself more and more, his brother said.
Ojeda became "very hostile" and "almost impossible to deal with," his brother said. "He turned into a kind of a hobo, vagabond, all over the place. He moved from place to place — the Far East, Alaska and the Lower 48 — landing in mental hospitals, on the street and in jail.
