As he bid them an emotional goodbye, Abdulhekim Esiyok assured his weeping Turkish parents he would one day return from distant New York City with enough earnings to pluck them from poverty.
Now, only a few months later, they are awaiting the arrival of his casket.
The shattered mother and father of the young Turkish migrant who was fatally mowed down by an alleged drunk driver in Manhattan this weekend are now bracing for his untimely return home.
“They are very sad about what happened to their son,” a friend told The Post Wednesday, speaking in Turkish. “They are very sad.”
Esiyok was crossing Third Avenue near East 21st Street Sunday night when Mahbub Ali, 26, slammed into him.
The 23-year-old victim — who had only been in America for a few months — was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital.
Originally from rural Agri in eastern Turkey on the Iranian border, Esiyok decided to leave his mountainous home region and its limited economic opportunities
Hearing of abundant employment in New York, Esiyok — who was unmarried and had no children — exited his former life and landed at JFK Airport.
With little money or immediate prospects, Esiyok awoke early each morning at a migrant shelter near the scene of his death and tirelessly hit the pavement in order to secure steady employment.
He planned to send his earnings back to his family in order to ease their own impoverishment, and was determined to find work.
Esiyok’s ultimate goal, associates said, was to cobble together enough money to start a family of his own.
Friends said he scoured the city for employment each day, but struggled to land a dependable position.
His rudimentary Engilsh, they said, hampered his efforts and his early optimism began to wane.
“He was just a regular young person,” the friend said. “He liked sports, he wanted something more for his life.”
Esiyok’s determined dreams came to an abrupt end in the Gramercy intersection, leaving his parents paralyzed with grief after being informed of his death by phone.
They broke down after hearing of their son’s abrupt demise, and attempted to travel to New York this week.
But their visas were denied, a source said, forcing them to instead wait for Esiyok’s body to be flown back to his homeland for burial.
The migrant’s friend said they were able to fund his transport and funeral costs through a fundraising campaign that gathered more than $25,000.
He is slated for burial in Agri on Saturday.
“He was just a good, humble young man with dreams,” the friend said.
In addition to Esiyok, two pedestrians — a 21-year-old man and 26-year-old woman — and an 18-year-old e-bike rider were also injured.
A passenger in Ali’s car, a 25-year-old woman, also suffered minor injuries.
Ali was ordered held on $300,000 bail on Tuesday, despite prosecutors’ request he be remanded without bail.
The Queens man told cops that he had drank at brunch that day prior to the accident.
