Fatal Somers MVA

[JM15 386]

The victim in this accident was a well liked senior from Somers High School he was a good wrestler and he will be very missed.

My condolences go to his family and close friends

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Information as released by News 12 Westchester:

The victim was Eric D'Agnese, 17 years old, Somers High School Senior, wrestler, and member of the track team.

Per State Police the accident is still under investigation, but at this time drugs, alcohol, speed, and reckless driving seem not to be factors in this tragedy.

I personally knew Eric, and he was a good friend of mine. He was a fine young man. The saddest part about it is that as of right now, there seems to be no cause for the accident. Based on the information I've gained from the news outlets, it seems like this was just a terrible accident that has claimed another innocent life. My thoughts and condolences go out to his friends and especially his family.

[JBE 328]

This is sad. Why is it that things like this always seem to happen around this time of year?? Condolences to the family.

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Students, family mourn student killed in car crash

By ALISON BERT

abert@thejournalnews.com

THE JOURNAL NEWS

To pay respects 

• Visiting hours will be from 7 to 9 p.m. today and from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. tomorrow and Sunday at Joseph J. Smith Funeral Home, 692 Route 6, Mahopac. A Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Monday in St. Patrick's Church, 117 Moseman Ave., Yorktown Heights, with burial to follow in the Gate of Heaven Cemetery on Stevens Avenue, Hawthorne.

• Contributions in his memory may be made to the Somers High School Wrestling Club, Somers High School Athletic Department, P.O. Box 640, Lincolndale, NY 10540.

 

 

(Original publication: May 20, 2005)

Eric T. D'Agnese was a caring person, an honors students and an avid wrestler at Somers High School who enjoyed dancing and going on fishing trips with his family.

A day after the 17-year-old senior died in a car crash, his family and school community mourned his loss, remembering his compassion, his sense of humor and the joy he brought to others.

"He was always good with the children," said his uncle, Joe D'Agnese of Carmel, who remembered Eric playing ball with his young cousins during family gatherings. He described his nephew as soft-spoken and laid-back, with a keen sense of humor and a lifelong curiosity about and a passion for living.

"Even when he was being baptized, the priest said, 'I've baptized a lot of children, but Eric is really very, very special. He's so into it and so alert and interested, and his eyes are moving.' He was there," recalled D'Agnese, a veterinarian.

The boy enjoyed fishing with his family, said his father, Dr. Gerard D'Agnese, an internist in Shrub Oak, recalling a recent excursion they took in a boat on the South Carolina coast.

When searching for words to describe his son, he said the boy's 13-year-old brother, Vincent, summed it up best. " 'He was a caring and loving person who always thought of others before himself,' " he said, quoting the boy.

He said his son loved wrestling and running track, playing computer games and paintball and going dancing with his friends.

D'Agnese spent five years on the wrestling team, at one point serving as its captain. The day before his death, the school's coaches decided to recognize him for sportsmanship and dedication at the upcoming awards banquet, Schools Superintendent Joanne Marien said.

The teen was in the National Honor Society. He was considering a career in international business and planned to attend Albany University, SUNY, his father said.

At school yesterday, seniors came together for a brief convocation to reflect on their loss, Marien said, adding that counselors were available for students who felt a need to talk.

"He was certainly well-liked and well-respected by his teachers and classmates," she said.

The state police at Somers said the crash, on Route 118 south of Meadow Park Road, remained under investigation and that investigators were awaiting the results of the accident-reconstruction team. D'Agnese was wearing his seat belt and had to be cut out of it by rescuers after his car struck a utility pole shortly after 4 p.m., police said

His southbound Honda went off the right-hand side of the road and into a soft shoulder that is lower than the pavement.

The front tire may have got caught in the soft ground and veered toward the right. Police said the car then struck the utility pole.

D'Agnese was born July 1, 1987, in White Plains, the son of Dr. Gerard and Soo Chin D'Agnese. In addition to his parents, brother and uncle, he is survived by his grandmother, Mary D'Agnese of Yorktown Heights, and several aunts, uncles and cousins.

 

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Prayers to Family and Friends