Four East Massapequa crash victims mourned at Brooklyn services

Four family members killed in an East Massapequa crash earlier this month were remembered Sunday in Brooklyn by mourners who heard stories about what made each life so special.

Patrice Huntley, 60, of Flushing, Queens, his children Jeremiah, 10, and Hannah, 13, and his 6-year-old granddaughter, Chantel Solomon, lay in open coffins at Harmony Funeral Home on Clarendon Avenue while mourners first quietly streamed in to pay their respects. 

Photos of the family flashed across two screens, and many of those gathered hugged and wiped away tears while others appeared in shock.

Tasheba Huntley-Hamilton, who lost her children Jeremiah and Hannah and her granddaughter, Chantel, also struggled to avoid breaking down. 

"I just saw too much and I'm on overload. I'm in shock," Huntley-Hamilton said.

She had rallied around the youngest victim, Chantel, who had initially survived the collision and was hospitalized, only to die less than a week later. 

“This is just terrible,” said Jahmeel Ibraheem, Tasheba Huntley-Hamilton’s uncle. "All of them gone like this."

The family had been out to get ice cream Aug. 6 and were stopped at a red light on Sunrise Highway in East Massapequa when, authorities said, a driver allegedly impaired by drugs, Michael Deangelo, smashed into the back of their SUV. Police previously said a video recorder showed Deangelo, of Lindenhurst, was traveling at speeds up to 120 mph.

The nondenominational service Sunday included Scripture readings, music, and traditional African drumming.

Bishop Gerald Seabrooks, senior pastor at Rehoboth Cathedral in Brooklyn, tried to comfort the grieving family while acknowledging their pain is incomprehensible.

“This is a tragedy that is unexplainable but we do realize that every good and perfect gift comes from above. Therefore, we know that your hand was not in this,” Seabrooks said.  

“My prayer is that you can work it out for this family’s good ... give them tranquility,” he added.

Patrice Huntley, a Marine Corps veteran who joined when he was 18 before being medically discharged due to an injury, received military honors. Two Marines folded an American flag and one presented it to Huntley-Hamilton, who sat in a front row at the chapel, with her surviving children. 

Her daughter Brienna Peoples, 18, attended in a wheelchair due to injuries suffered in the crash, Ibraheem said.

Huntley-Hamilton's 14-year-old son, David Huntley, managed to survive the impact without serious injuries after a passerby cut the air bags, she had previously said.

Wendy McClinton, president and CEO of Black Veterans for Social Justice, recognized Patrice Huntley, who used to work at her organization, for being a “good and faithful veteran.”

Some of the mourners cried as Patrice Huntley’s mother, Cisley Stewart, sang “Day by Day.”

Deandra Brown, Tasheba Huntley-Hamilton’s goddaughter, read obituaries for the children. Chantel, she said, was a shy, quiet and energetic girl who “made new friends wherever she went.” She loved to read, sing and dress up as her favorite cartoons.

Hannah, Brown said, was an “artist and child prodigy,” and very loving and caring. She was even recognized by the school chancellor for her intellect, Brown said. 

Jeremiah, meanwhile, was “bigger than life and so was his heart,” Brown said. She said he enjoyed commenting on video games on his YouTube channel and was thinking about having his own business one day.

Deangelo, the Lindenhurst man charged in connection with the crash, faces three counts of vehicular homicide and a possible fourth homicide charge, the Nassau County District Attorney's Office has said. Current charges also include vehicular manslaughter, assault, driving while impaired by drugs and reckless driving. Karl Seman, the Garden-City based attorney for Deangelo, has maintained his client's innocence.

Seman previously told Newsday that Deangelo cried at his hospital arraignment when he first learned about the fatalities.

"Not every crash is a result of criminal liability. It is tragic beyond words. He’s presumed innocent and no evidence presented to presume otherwise," Seman said. 

The children were each inside matching white caskets with gold trim, and Patrice Huntley lay inside a bronze coffin.

Inside each coffin read "Celebration of life."

White and blue roses were arranged on top of Patrice and Jeremiah Huntley's coffins while a spray of white pink and gold roses adorned Hannah's coffin. 

CORRECTION: Tasheba Huntley-Hamilton is the grandmother of Chantel Solomon. A previous version of this story described their relationship incorrectly.

By Lorena Mongelli

lorena.mongelli@newsday.com

Lorena Mongelli has been reporting for Newsday since 2021. Prior to that, she covered breaking news at the New York Post.