From: Empress worker killed by druck driver

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Hundreds mourn hit-run victim in Ossining

By MICHAEL RISINIT

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: October 22, 2006)

OSSINING - By all accounts, Legista Beckford always had a smile, a laugh or a supportive word for family and friends.

Yesterday, the nearly 300 mourners packing St. Ann's Church in Ossining had their warm memories of Beckford, 33, and also anguish over his Oct. 12 death in a hit-and-run accident.

"I don't know how to say goodbye to you, because you're not supposed to leave me this early," Sophronia, his wife, read from a letter she penned to her husband, the words almost outpaced by her sobs as she stood in front of the standing-room-only crowd.

Behind her, Beckford's brother, Summerville, stood leaning into her with his hands on her shoulders. He, like other family members and Beckford's colleagues from Empress Ambulance in Yonkers, spoke of a man who loved family, was known for his generous heart and brought a positive spirit to everything he did.

"For those reasons, we are so moved by his death," said the Rev. Edward Byrne, St. Ann's pastor.

Beckford died after a vehicle rear-ended his Dodge Durango on the northbound Sprain Brook Parkway in Yonkers, police said. The collision caused him to lose control and crash into a wooded area. State police charged Lisa Shipp, 44, of the Bronx with leaving the scene of an accident, a felony, and driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor.

She was arrested after a witness followed her into Greenburgh and called the police.

"We're God-fearing people. So we don't wish (Shipp) any evil. We hope justice will be served," said Leopold Lee, a cousin, outside the church before the funeral Mass.

Known as "Leggie," Beckford was a onetime Ossining High School football and track star. He worked as a marketing supervisor in Empress' billing department, and his good-spirited ways even overcame the downside of bill collection, an Empress senior vice president said, because clients loved to hear from him.

An Empress crew had responded to the accident and recognized Beckford, who was on his way home after work to his wife and three boys, ages 10, 7 and 2.

"He was a great guy, a guy you would want to build a company around," said Mike Minerva of Empress. "It's a tragic loss for his family, but also for the Empress family."

The Mass lasted more than an hour. When it ended, dozens of cars clogged Eastern Avenue for the procession to St. Augustine Cemetery, led by several Empress ambulances.

During the funeral, his wife finished reading her letter. She lamented the times the couple argued in their 12 years together, but begged for time to have just one more argument. She pleaded with her husband to guide her in raising their sons: Legista Jr., Malique and Dillon. She also managed to elicit a bittersweet smile from the full house.

"I don't have anyone to fight over a blanket with," she said.

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