A father of six found dying on his Queens block last year was fatally beaten in a clash over a parking spot, police have determined.
Christopher Hightower, 58, was discovered on the ground down the block from his home on 176th St. near Brinkerhoff Ave. in Jamaica about 10:40 a.m. May 22, cops said.
He was highly intoxicated and suffering from a lacerated spleen and a head injury, sources said.
Medics rushed him to Jamaica Hospital, where the Pennsylvania native succumbed to his injuries the next day, cops said.
Hightower died from blunt force trauma to his head and body, the city Medical Examiner has determined, deeming his death a homicide.
Cops have determined he was beaten during a fight over a parking space. No arrests have been made.
Family members said Hightower moved from Allentown PA to Jamaica Queens as a child and attended Francis Lewis High School.
Known by multiple nicknames, including “C High” and “Laney,” Hightower was a certified counselor and helped to “make lasting changes in the lives of those he counseled and worked with,” according to an obituary.
He also had the ability to navigate around tense situations, relatives said.
“He was a quick thinker and a fast talker,” family members noted in the obituary. “He had the keen ability to measure and assess people and situations quickly and he knew just how to move and just what to do.”
He was the father of two boys and four girls and worked for Amazon and UPS in the years leading up to his death, relatives said.