The Woodside teenager who was killed on the way to a party on Friday was mourned at a private funeral service today.
Daniel Fernandez, 16, the son of Jose and Maria Fernandez, was to have started his junior year at St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows this week.
He was killed after allegedly opening an emergency hatch on the roof of a double-decked party bus and striking his head on a bridge overpass shortly after the bus passed over the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey.
He died at Hackensack University Medical Center. More than 500 people attended his wake on Monday at Kearns Funeral Home in Rego Park.
Brother Leonard Conway, principal of St. Francis, said the school is offering support for the Fernandez family and Daniel’s friends.
“We are sharing in the grief and shock of the sudden death of this young student,” Conway said. “Our prayers are with him and his family.”
St. Francis will offer grief counseling when school reopens to those students who need it.
“When the family is ready, we’ll have some type of memorial program for Daniel,” Conway added.
Multiple published reports say the bus was headed to a sweet 16 party in Garfield, New Jersey. The accident took place at approximately 6:45 p.m. as the bus passed under the Fletcher Avenue Overpass in Fort Lee.
Al Della Fave, spokesman for the Port Authority Police Department, said PA detectives are investigating the case and will forward their findings to the Bergen County Procesutor’s Office for review upon completion.
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