Killed pedestrian was wife’s savior
Angeline Cordeiro, 62, woke up yesterday morning, expecting to see her husband asleep beside her in bed.
But the empty space reminded her of what happened.
"He was the center of my life," she said yesterday in her Maili home. "I don't know why he had to die."
Michael Jones, 54, was killed by a car that hit him Monday night.
Jones, known as "Smiley" because he was quick to smile, was crossing Farrington Highway in a crosswalk near Maili Beach Park toward the 7-Eleven near Maipalaoa Road at about 10:35 p.m. when a silver car hit him. He died at the hospital at about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Cordeiro, who is in a wheel- chair because of health problems, said Jones saved her life.
As she battled mental illness, lung cancer, an injured sciatic nerve and a stroke, Jones was there to take care of her.
"All he did was help me," she said, recalling him saying, "God made me to help you."
While she was bedridden for 19 months, Jones would cook for her and bathe her.
He was known for his Southern fried chicken, which he learned to make as a chef in Florida.
He came to Hawaii 20 years ago on a trip won through Burger King and stayed.
The couple met at Maili Church of God and married 17 years ago on Valentine's Day.
Visitors stopped at the couple's home yesterday to give their condolences or help around the house.
Bryan, a visitor who declined to give his last name, said the couple always fed and took care of other people.
"They're like angels almost," he said, adding that they would give anything they had to help people in need.
Cordeiro said she and her husband, who were both on disability, used to feed homeless people because they had no food.
For years, Jones helped at the Maili church, cleaning on Saturdays.
Cordeiro said that on the night of the accident, Jones kissed her and told her, "Honey, I'll be back in 15 minutes."
He was visiting people who live at the beach across Farrington, where he knew several of the people.
Cindy Saragosa-Brown, who lives at the park, said Jones was talking to her just seconds before the accident. She said his leg was severed; others said he landed about 50 yards from where he was hit.
Another accident occurred the next night between two vehicles at the same place where Jones died. Saragosa-Brown said she has seen 10 accidents in about 18 months at the intersection and said a crosswalk light is needed.
