CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A 92-year-old Little Village man who caught the world's attention when a picture of him wearily pushing his ice cream cart went viral has died.
Fidencio Sanchez, who became known as the "Paletas Man," was the focus of a wildly successful 2016 GoFundMe campaign. People who saw the picture of the octagenarian hunched over pushing the cart of paletas – frozen treats similar to Popsicles – collectively donated more than $380,000.
The cash windfall allowed Sanchez to retire and stay with his family in Little Village.
Joel Cervantes led the GoFundMe effort. "I thought it was just going to be a local thing," he said. "It just blew up. It went viral."
Attorney Salvador Lopez helped Sanchez manage the money and protected him from scammers.
Lopez said the outpouring of money and love for Sanchez couldn't have happened to a better person.
Friends say the money helped Sanchez enjoy the last three years of his life.
