'Close-knit' Westbury FD mourns

Purple and black bunting hung outside the Westbury Fire Department's headquarters on Wednesday as its members grappled with the pain of a car accident that killed one and seriously injured two of its own extended family.

Francesco Posillico, 17, the driver who died after the crash, had been a member of the department's Explorer program for teenagers since he was 14 and planned on becoming a volunteer firefighter when he turned 18, said 1st Assistant Fire Chief Douglas Ingram.

One passenger, Joey Scaperrotta, 16, was also an Explorer whose father, a Westbury firefighter, responded to the crash scene Wednesday not knowing his own son was in the wreckage.

And Danny Roche, 16, the other passenger, is a cousin of the department's fire chief, Pat Cody.

"It's a very close-knit force. It's hit us hard," Ingram said.

Ingram described responding to the accident scene Tuesday evening and urging emergency officials to quickly confirm that the car was, in fact, registered to Posillico.

"Then one of the mothers came up and said, 'I think Joey was in the car,' " Ingram said, shaking his head. "It was a long night."

Ingram said Scaperrotta's father was keeping watch over his son at Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola where the teen was in serious condition with spinal injuries and multiple fractures. "He's devastated," he said.

Roche was in critical condition, in a medically induced coma, police said.

Meanwhile, more than 150 young people, many from the teen's school, W.T. Clarke High School, stood around a tree at the scene of the crash in silence for more than an hour after school Wednesday.

The crowd broke the silence for a few seconds to recite the "Lord's Prayer." Many brought candles, signs, notes and cards, growing the makeshift memorial.

Several people cried and hugged as others dropped single flowers around the base of the tree. Nearby, Nassau County police cars blocked off the road where people spilled into the streets. As the sun set, the crowd quietly dispersed.

The department will offer a grief counseling session for the Explorers and the public at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Maple Avenue firehouse.

A full fire department brigade will turn out for Posillico's wake on Friday, with 50 to 60 members in uniform and a flag arch.

"He had all the intention of joining the fire department when he turned 18," Ingram said. "Unfortunately he never got there."

Posillico's wake is 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday at the Donahue-Cecere Funeral Home, 290 Post Ave., Westbury. The funeral is 9:45 a.m. Saturday at St. Brigid's Parish of Westbury at 75 Post Ave., with burial to follow at Cemetery of the Holy Rood, Westbury.

With Yamiche Alcindor