All afternoon, mourners — friends, relatives, soccer buddies — arrived at the white duplex on Goskin Court where Henry Mejia grew up.

Early Saturday evening the 37-year-old was riding his bike home from soccer practice when he was hit by an SUV exiting the 401 at Kennedy Rd. Mejia, a father of two, died in hospital Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon his 10-year-old son, Alonzo, emerged from his house to join mourners out front, tears spilling from his eyes as he described the loss of his father.

“I lost my best buddy,” he said, as Mejia’s other child, 19-year-old Jessica, moved toward him to comfort him. “We used to play in the backyard ... Now that’s over.”

Mejia was born in El Salvador but moved with his parents, brother and sister to Toronto in 1987, settling in the duplex on a quiet cul-de-sac near Neilson Rd. and Sheppard Ave. E. He quickly developed into a standout soccer player who often shared the pitch with the De Rosario brothers, including Major League Soccer MVP Dwayne.

“He used to do these things with the ball. He was a magician,” says family friend Vladimir Delgado. “He was a warm person (and) no matter what you liked or disliked about him, you could always respect him.”

Before soccer practice on Saturday, Andy Singh says he and Mejia shared a long conversation about rebuilding Mejia’s life.

A handyman by trade, Mejia was employed only sporadically. And though friends described him as stubbornly unselfish, he struggled to keep his marriage together. Singh says Mejia planned to return to school to become an electrician, and during Saturday’s heart-to-heart pledged to mend things with his estranged wife.

The two men agreed to meet Sunday to work on Mejia’s resume, and before Mejia pedalled home Singh told him he’d be glad to give him a ride next time.

“I asked him, ‘why do you ride your bike? It’s cold and dangerous,’ ” Singh said. “He said, ‘my bike is my baby.’ ”

As Mejia pedalled northbound on Kennedy Rd., riding on the sidewalk on the west side of the street, a Dodge Durango exited the eastbound off-ramp of Highway 401 on to Kennedy Rd., allegedly went through a red light and struck Mejia before hitting four more vehicles.

The Durango came to rest after it crossed into Kennedy’s northbound lane, colliding with one last vehicle.

Paramedics said Mejia was without vital signs when they arrived at 6:45 p.m. Saturday.

Another person was taken to hospital in serious condition, while four others had minor injuries.

Toronto’s Alvaro David, 46, appeared in court Sunday morning at Old City Hall in connection with the collisions. He faces seven charges, including impaired driving causing death, impaired driving causing bodily harm and failing to remain at the scene of an accident.

His next court appearance is slated for April 16 at Old City Hall.

By Sunday, police had cleared debris from the scene, but friends had set up a small memorial to Mejia nearby, tying a white bicycle to a traffic sign at the northernmost entrance to the Kennedy Common shopping centre, and adorning it with several bouquets of flowers. Three friends placed a pot of yellow chrysanthemums on the ground near the bike’s rear wheel.

“A lot of people are going to remember him,” said Denis Bermudez, who attended Neil McNeil Catholic Secondary School with Mejia. “Everyone in Scarborough knew him.”

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Bermudez had driven past the collision scene Saturday night and peeked over at the commotion, not knowing his friend had been hit. Sunday afternoon he paused at the makeshift memorial to leave flowers and take a picture.

Back at the house on Goskin, Singh stood on the front step with a group of Mejia’s friends, wearing a thin jacket and trembling from cold and grief.

“Out of everyone I know, he was the one who would give you his last dollar,” Singh said. “He literally only lived half his life. You don’t want to go through what his family is going through.”