Visas granted for family of 2 killed by car in Brentwood

Bittersweet news came for Joel Aguilar of Brentwood and his family Thursday when they learned immigration officials will allow his brother-in-law and nephew, who are in Peru, to attend the funerals of his mother and sister in the coming days.

Aguilar's sister, Faustina Aguilar, and his mother, Casilda Aguilar, both of Brentwood, were killed after being struck by a car two days before Thanksgiving Day as they walked home from grocery shopping for the holiday feast.

"With all this pain, today we can smile now," said Joel Aguilar, 46.

Friday night, some members of Faustina Aguilar's close-knit family will go to Kennedy Airport to greet her common-law husband, Efrain Munante, 52, and her son, Erick Michael Munante, 27, both of Chimbote, Peru.

The last time Faustina Aguilar, 51, saw her husband and son was in May when she and the couple's five other children left Peru to start a new life in Brentwood, said Joel Aguilar.

Efrain Munante was unable to join his wife in Brentwood immediately because the pair had not married, Aguilar said. And, because Erick Munante was older than 21, he had to wait for his mother to become an American citizen before she could petition the U.S. government to allow him to join the family.

The pair were initially denied visitors' visas to attend the funerals because of the short notice. It was then that Legis. Ricardo Montano (D-Brentwood) and Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) stepped in to help secure humanitarian parole visas so Efrain Munante and his son could travel. "I have no words to express how thankful my family is, especially my nephew who will be able to say goodbye to his mother and see his brothers and sister," said Joel Aguilar.

Faustina Aguilar, 51, and her 78-year-old mother were struck by a 2003 Lincoln Town Car as they crossed Wicks Road at Bradley Street Nov. 23, police said. Faustina died that day, her mother on Thanksgiving.Their wake is scheduled for Sunday at the Michael J. Grant Funeral Home in Brentwood. They will be buried at Queen of All Saints Cemetery in Central Islip.

Correction: An earlier version of the story stated that a wake would be held Friday.