APRIL 12, 2018 • TIMES OF SMITHTOWN • PAGE A5
TOWN Smithtown street dedicated to honor 2015 crash victims Families pledge to continue to fight for stricter limousine safety laws, driver qualifications with online petition BY KYLE BARR KYLE@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM
LABS Continued on page A9
KYLE BARR
Smithtown High School West students entering the south entrance this week may see a new street sign “LABS Ln,” dedicated as a lasting tribute to four young women killed in a 2015 limousine crash. More than 700 runners were joined by about 300 local residents, first responders and politicians for the first Running 4 Our Angels 5K Run/Walk April 8. The event aimed to bring awareness to safety issues with limousine safety and honor the lives of Lauren Baruch, Stephanie Belli, Amy Grabina and Brittney Schulman. More than $10,000 raised through donations will go to scholarships given out by nonprofit organizations founded by the four families to honor their daughters’ lives. The proceeds will be equally split between the Lawzie Marigold Foundation, founded in honor of Lauren Baruch; the Stephanie Belli Whisperette Scholarship; The Amy Rose Grabina Foundation; and a scholarship given out by the Schulman
family. The event organizers declined to release the total amount raised. “This was amazing, beyond my wildest imagination,” said Felicia Baruch, Lauren’s mother, who organized the event. “We have such an amazing community in Smithtown, without the community this could not have happened.” On July 18, 2015, the four women had rented a limousine along with four others to go wine tasting at various North Fork vineyards. Peconic resident Steven Romeo was driving an SUV when he collided with the limousine as it attempted to make a Uturn near the intersection of Depot Lane and County Route 48 in Cutchogue. The four young women died in the crash while the other six were injured. “It’s coming up to three years in July and there’s nothing,” said Brittney’s father, Paul Schulman. “There are no changes to anything, the people responsible are still walking around, and I have to keep fighting because if I don’t, then [change] is not going to happen.”
From left, Felicia and Steven Baruch, Carol Belli hold copies of the honorary street sign that commemorates their daughters’ lives at the corner of Central Road and Plymouth Blvd.
KP residents welcome home National Guard member BY KYLE BARR KYLE@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM
KYLE BARR
Cheering friends and family lined Longfellow Drive in Kings Park Wednesday afternoon to welcome home a National Guard airman returning home from Iraq. Nobody was more excited to see him than his children. Both Ella, 3, and Gavin Brucculeri, 2, screamed with delight when they saw their father, Master Sgt. Jimmy Brucculeri, pull up in the family’s Dodge Ram. Ella bounded over to her dad who immediately picked her up into his arms. Gavin walked down the driveway with tears in his eyes, completely overcome with emotion. Suffolk County Police Department members looking on cheered loudly in welcoming Brucculeri home. It took him by surprise. “It’s a great feeling, all of this, it’s a great feeling to be home,” he said. ‘It’s good to see everybody come together.” Brucculeri works as a Suffolk County police officer in addition to serving as a member of the 106th Air Rescue Wing of New York’s National Guard. In January, his unit was deployed into Iraq to assist Operation Inherent Resolve, a U.S. led mission to combat ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The 106th Air Rescue Unit lost four of its members March 15 when an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter crashed in Iraq during a mission for Operation Inherent Resolve, aiding coalition forces along the Iraq-Syria border in the war against ISIS. The U.S. Department of Defense has said the cause of the crash is still under investigation, but it did not appear to be the result of enemy activity. “It’s kind of somber, but half of my unit is still in Iraq,” Brucculeri said. “So until
Left, U.S. Navy Master Sgt. Jimmy Brucculeri holds his children as Suffolk County police and residents welcome him home from Iraq. Above, Gavin, 2, gets emotional upon seeing his father.
they get home and everyone gets home, it’s just waiting.” Thousands of mourners traveled to King’s Park to attend funeral services for Commack airman Master Sgt. Christopher Raguso, a member of Brucculeri’s unit, who was killed in the line of duty when the helicopter crashed. Brucculeri’s family was able to keep in contact with him while he was overseas, but said it was much better to have him home. “We spoke daily over Facetime or texting, which was good, but it was still obviously
hard,” said Cathryn, Brucculeri’s wife. “ The kids definitely felt it. Gavin’s birthday was yesterday, so it’s a very good birthday present to have him home.” Ernie Kabelka was also there to welcome Brucculeri home. “He’s a great neighbor, he’s a great friend. He does everything around here,” Kabelka said. He recalled how during a major snowstorm he and Brucculeri were driving around town together, when they spotted a man whose car was stuck in the snow.
Brucculeri pulled over and spent more than a half hour helping dig the man out, according to Kabelka. “He didn’t think nothing of it, it’s just what he does,” the neighbor said. Concetta Van Winckel, a friend of the Brucculeri family, helped to organize the homecoming by posting on Facebook and social media. “Everyone from the community really came out for this,” Van Winckel said. “It was beautiful. People were really great to come out, even in the rain.” See more photographs of Brucculeri’s homecoming on www.tbrnewsmedia.com.