Chinese immigrant killed in Keller hit-and-run ‘changed so many lives,’ son says
.jpeg "Feng Zhou smiles for a photo. The 58-year-old’s family is remembering him for his hard work and his kindness after he was killed in a hit-and-run crash in Keller on Saturday.")
The 58-year-old Keller man killed in a hit-and-run on Saturday was a Chinese immigrant who started a family in the U.S. more than 30 years ago and eventually found a home in North Texas, where he had his own realty business, his oldest son said.
Feng Zhou and his wife, Hanju Yang, were members at the New Life Gospel Church in Keller, and often took long walks around their neighborhood. The pair were strolling together on Saturday evening in the 1100 block of Johnson Road, on the south side of the street, when a gray Toyota SUV veered off the road and struck Feng, according to Keller police. The car missed his wife.
The driver fled eastbound, police said, before turning south onto Keller-Smithfield Road, and was last seen by witnesses on Keller Parkway.
Albert Zhou, one of Feng Zhou’s two sons, was at home on Saturday afternoon and got the call from his mother that his father had been struck. The 32-year-old has been living with his family for the past year and a half and helping with his dad’s business, 777 Realty LLC, after spending several years in New York, he said.
His father was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died.
Police on Monday seized an SUV in connection to the incident but the identity of the driver remained a mystery as of Tuesday. No evidence indicates the driver hit Zhou intentionally, police said.
The family Feng leaves behind has been shocked, saddened and overwhelmed over the past couple days — a “mix of feelings and emotions,” as Albert described it. But they haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about the person who ran over their father, Albert said. They of course want justice, he said, but don’t feel filled with hate.
“We believe our dad’s already forgiven him, and my mom forgives him too,” Albert said over the phone on Tuesday. “I think it’s more of just like trying to take care of our ourselves and trying to get our stuff in order and trying to celebrate his memory. This is more about my dad.”
The Keller Police Department is asking residents and businesses in the area to review their security camera video from around 6 p.m. Saturday for a fast-moving gray SUV. They identified Bourland Road, Johnson Road, Keller-Smithfield Road and Keller Parkway as areas of interest.
Keller police Detective Jensen can be contacted at 817-743-4532 or bjensen@cityofkeller.com with information about this incident.
As detectives are continuing to investigate the hit-and-run, Feng’s family is trying to find the right way to honor a man known for his tireless work ethic, ability to learn fast and desire to help others, from family to strangers.
Albert is hosting a prayer vigil for Feng that will be held on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the spot where the hit-and-run occurred, in the 1000 block of Johnson Drive.
His sons also set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for medical bills and funeral arrangements, and together worked on a eulogy to their father, in the voice of only one son.
“My dad loved unconditionally,” they wrote on the GoFundMe. “He loved God, his family and his neighbors — even more than he loved himself. He had a heart of compassion overflowing with love, and he loved to help those in need.”
He attended church fellowship and church service each week, they wrote on the GoFundMe. The family invited Christians into their home and helped build the church, the page says.
“My dad was a simple man who loved simple things. He loved to be with his family, to watch TV, to cook, to eat, and to sleep after a long day of work,” the GoFundMe says. “He loved to fish even though he was so bad other fishermen would share their fish with him. He loved to smile, and he loved to make others smile.”
The page had raised more than $35,000 as of Tuesday afternoon. It was filled with tributes from people who knew him through his work, or his education, or his community, many of whom stated he left an impression on them.
Albert said over the phone on Tuesday his father was a “great man” who felt comfortable supporting other people.
“He’s changed so many lives for the better, especially my family’s lives,” he said. “He was the pillar of the family, and even the compass of the family.”
‘My parents came to the states with nothing’
When Feng and his wife came to America, specifically Kansas, they had to find whatever work they could get in order to get by, Albert said. They delivered newspapers, waited tables and sold cars, working early in the morning until late at night.
Feng had gotten a scholarship as an exchange student at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. He started out in physics but moved into electrical engineering, all while he and his wife were raising their first son, Albert.
Some time after college, Feng got a job at Texas Instruments, which brought his family to Texas, Albert said. He and his wife raised the boys in several cities across North Texas over several years, from Lubbock, to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, to Irving. Feng also worked for STMicroelectronics.
He eventually set his sights on real estate, and about 15 years ago became an independent broker.
Albert said his father was intelligent going back to his childhood in China, where he was the top of his class. But he, along with his wife, also worked hard for everything they got.
“Both my parents came to the states with nothing, no money at all,” he said. “So for them to be as successful and as caring and as generous and as loving as they were, it’s amazing.”
He added that Feng gave generously to his church, which was a big part of his life. He “wholeheartedly” loved God, Albert said.
It’s because of that Faith, Albert said, the family doesn’t feel Feng would hold lingering resentment over the suspect’s actions or “pursue avenues of hate.”
“It doesn’t help at this moment,” Albert said. “I think right now for us it’s more about, like, to spread positivity, spread love and to honor and cherish my dad’s memory because he himself is such a generous, loving guy.”
This story was originally published March 22, 2021 at 7:30 PM.
