HALF HOLLOW HILLS Copyright © 2016 Long Islander News
NEWSPAPER
Online at LongIslanderNews.com
VOL. 18, ISSUE 7
THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2016
24 PAGES
WHEATLEY HEIGHTS
Crash Victim Was ‘Role Model,’ Had ‘Infectious Smile’ Photo/GoFundMe
By Jano Tantongco jtantongco@longislandergroup.com
Friends of Deronne Lawrence, a 19-year-old Wyandanch man who was killed in a car crash in Wheatley Heights on Friday morning, said the teenager was a positive role model in the Wyandanch community. “He had an infectious smile. He was always a positive role model for the kids,” said Patricia Taylor, who coached Lawrence during his time on the track team at Wyandanch High School before he graduated in 2014. “He would always come back to the school to speak with the kids whenever he was off from college.” Lawrence died Friday after Suffolk police said he was driving northbound on Straight Path in his 2008 Honda when his vehicle began to veer into the southbound lane and struck a 2013 Jeep at around 6:45 a.m. Lawrence was pronounced dead on scene by a physician assistant from the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s office. The driver of the Jeep, 31-year-old Paul Gimelli, of Dix Hills, was brought to Good Samaritan Hos-
Friends of Deronne Lawrence, who was killed Friday after his car veered into the oncoming lane on Straight Path in Dix Hills, said the 19-year-old was a positive role model in his community, and caring person. pital Medical Center in West Islip by the Wyandanch-Wheatley Heights Ambulance. Both vehicles were impounded for a safety check
and police are still investigating the crash. Taylor said on Monday that Lawrence ran in the 100- and 200-meter races for the Wyandanch Warriors, which she said Lawrence considered a “band of brothers.” Taylor also said that Lawrence attended Vaughn College in Brooklyn where he studied aviation. Whenever he came home from college, Taylor said, Lawrence would speak with and advise the younger athletes of his former team. Matthew Rosa, current captain of the Warriors track team, said he was shocked by the news of Lawrence’s death. “I tried calling him and the phone wouldn’t answer, and I just kept calling him,” Rosa, a senior, said on Monday. “He was actually more like a brother to me. We always hung out, no matter what we did. He was always happy, a genuine person. He’ll joke with you, he cared about you.” A GoFundMe page (GoFundMe.com/bkv49c9t) has been created to help cover the costs of a funeral service for Lawrence, which is planned to be at the True Life Church of God in Wyandanch. Members of Lawrence’s family could not be reach for comment before deadline Monday.
MELVILLE
Chart-topper Carly Rae Jepsen A9
First Data To Close Melville Office By Jano Tantongco jtantongco@longislandergroup.com
First Data Corporation, a credit card processing company, will be closing its Melville branch by the end of 2017, according to a state filing made March 7. In the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification the company filed with the Department of Labor it specifies that the plant, located at 1307 Walt Whitman Road, will be closing due to “economic” reasons. The filing also notes that there is no union representation or bumping rights (Continued on page A22)
Long Islander News photo/Jano Tantongco
SPOTLIGHT
The Melville branch of credit card processing company First Data will be closing by the end of 2017.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
REAL ESTATE
SPOTLIGHT A21