Bethpage mom, daughter killed in crash mourned

Mourners streamed into St. Martin of Tours Roman Catholic Church in Bethpage Monday morning to remember Barbara Ryan and her daughter and celebrate their lives, which ended suddenly last week when their car was struck by a tractor-trailer.

Joanna, 11, was remembered as an energetic and high-spirited girl who loved sports such as soccer and golf, said Father Thomas Cardone, chaplain at Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale, where Joanna's brother, Gerald, is a sophomore.

"She was a beautiful girl. I was blessed to have her for 11 years. It was cut short but I can't look at that angle," Joanna's father, Gerald Ryan of Farmingdale, said after the funeral.

Gerald Ryan said he and Barbara were divorced but remained friends and cared for the children. "Barbara was a beautiful wife and a beautiful lady," he said. "We had beautiful children."

During his homilies, Cardone recounted a story in which Joanna's cousins waited patiently while she tested every flavor of ice cream at a Baskin Robbins, Cardone said, before selecting the flavor she wanted: vanilla. The story drew a collective laugh from friends and families who filled the expansive church.

Barbara Ryan, 44, brought lots of love and joy to her family, Cardone said. Her trademark, he said, was that she loved to talk.

"When you're done talking, there's more talking," Cardone said.

The pair died in a five-vehicle crash during Wednesday's rush hour, at Hicksville Road and Central Avenue in Bethpage, Nassau police said. Witnesses told police the tractor-trailer driver, Ryan Draper, 32, of upstate Lowville, drove through a red light and crashed into the 2006 Pontiac driven by Barbara Ryan.

Police said Draper passed a breath analyzer test, but authorities are checking his blood for other illegal substances. The results of the blood test will take six to eight weeks, police said Monday. Authorities are also reconstructing the crash scene. When both tasks are completed, police will decide whether to charge Draper.

Two other drivers were injured in the crash. A young woman was treated and released, police said. Another woman, 71, remained hospitalized Monday with shoulder and rib injuries, police said.

Besides Gerald Ryan and Gerald Ryan III, Barbara and Joanna Ryan are survived by Barbara Ryan's parents, Robert and Joan Esposito, of Farmingdale; and Barbara Ryan's brother, Steven Esposito.

Barbara and Joanna Ryan were buried Monday at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood in Westbury.