Fatal hit-run suspect delivered to cops

BY MATTHEW LYSIAK, KERRY BURKE and MICHAEL WHITE
DAILY NEWS WRITERS

Saturday, December 29th 2007, 4:00 AM

Four witnesses to a deadly hit-and-run crash in Brooklyn chased the cowardly driver for a block - then hauled him back to the scene in a cab, police said Friday.

Witnesses watched helplessly as the driver mowed down Francisco Guerrero, 73, while making an illegal U-turn at 52nd St. and Fourth Ave. in Sunset Park, cops said.

Lawrence Meyers, 38, who was dressed in a black suit and driving a blue minivan, attempted to flee the 3:30 p.m. crash, police said.

As he sped off, Meyers, who lived nearby, sideswiped a van driven by Chris Blake, 41, who began chasing the minivan. A gutsy city bus driver also helped, using the bus to corner the escaping minivan.

"[The bus driver] boxed him in from the front and I got him boxed in from behind," said Blake, of Bay Ridge. "He jumped out and tried to run. We grabbed him and held him. He slipped out of his jacket and two other guys grabbed him.

"I was glad we got the bastard. He killed a guy. He was meant to get caught. He deserves to go to jail."

The two good Samaritans piled into a cab with Meyers and returned to the scene, where cops arrested him.

Witness Efrain Santos, 26, who works with one of the brave men at Nuevo Estillo barbershop, said everyone in the shop was watching the drama unfold. "The taxi pulled out front. They put the cuffs on him and he looked real nervous," Santos said.

Early this morning, as he was led out of a police precinct, Meyers told reporters, "It was an accident. It was just an accident."

The victim, who lived nearby, died at Lutheran Medical Center, officials said.

"He's a nice guy. I can't believe that happened to him," said Daniel Feliciano, who owns a beer distributor company where Guerrero often redeemed empty cans and bottles.