Obituaries

Friends and Family Members Say Goodbye to Francesco Posillico

The funeral at St. Brigid's Church on Saturday morning.

Friends and family members gathered at St. Brigid's Church on Saturday morning for the funeral of Francesco Posillico, 17, of Westbury, who in Westbury on Tuesday evening.

, the accident occurred at approximately 5:30 p.m. when they believe Posillico, a student at , ran a stop sign at the intersection of Bowling Green Drive and Salisbury Road that caused a collision between Posillico's BMW and a Levittown woman's Chevy. The BMW flipped over, and Posillico was ejected, and police say it was unlikely that he was wearing a seat belt.

Two other teens were seriously injured in the accident, both students at Clarke as well. Daniel Roche, 16, of Westbury, was sitting in the front passenger seat. He suffered cervical spinal injuries and multiple fractures from the incident. Roche had to be put into an induced coma "for his own protection," Nassau County Lt. Det. Frank Cote said at a press conference late Wednesday morning.

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As of Saturday at 12:30 p.m., Roche remains in "critical, but stable condition" at Winthrop Hospital, according to John Broder, Winthrop's VP for External Affairs and Development.

The back seat passenger, Joseph Scaperratto, 16, of Westbury, suffered spinal injuries and multiple fractures as well. After being admitted in serious condition to the , he is slowly recovering.

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"He is stable, alert and improving," said Shelley Lotenberg, the spokeswoman for NUMC.

The Levittown woman's identity was not revealed, but she was treated and released from a local hospital, according to officials.

There was a held at the scene of the accidents on Wednesday, as hundreds of people quietly payed their respects.

Friends and family members said their final goodbyes Saturday at the funeral, and the burial took place at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood in Westbury. Plenty of personnel from the Westbury Fire Department was on hand to say goodbye to Posillico, who was very active with the organization.


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