Family Sets Up Memorial Fund For Newton Teen Killed In Crash

NEWTON, MA — Two months after a crash in Sturbridge left a Newton South High School student dead just before his 17th birthday, the community has donated more than $27,000 toward a fund his family has set up in his name.

"Steve and I have felt blessed by the outpouring of compassion and invaluable support we have received since Zach’s passing," said Zachary Mandel's mother Julie Gardner Mandel.

She said she'd received calls and emails from community members asking if there was anything they could do, any place they could donate to.

It gave her an idea.

To honor her son, she and Zach's stepfather established a fund at the Boston Foundation in his name.

The Zachary Mandel Memorial Fund will give annual grants to charitable organizations that help adults and children with physical and or emotional disabilities. It will also grant money to organizations that promote equality, diversity and change through education.

"Creating this fund has been life-saving for me,"Mandel said. "Every time someone makes a donation, I smile and feel a big hug. Knowing that donations will be made on an annual basis to the charities most dear to Zach’s heart eases my pain over his tragic and untimely death."

The fund is a fitting way to honor the teen who friends and family described as empathetic and driven to help others.

Helping others was part of who he was, according to family. It showed when the lacrosse player volunteered to help run a lacrosse clinic for younger children. It showed when he decided he would travel to Puerto Rico to help rebuild homes after Hurricane Maria. He also volunteered during winters at Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports Program at Sugarbush and Waterville Valley Ski Resorts, teaching children with disabilities how to ski and snowboard.

"His smile lit up the room and his sincerity and compassion for others in need were abundantly evident," his family said in a statement.

Mandel said it was important to her that people know her son was adamantly opposed to drugs and alcohol and that he had just had the best day of his life with his girlfriend of seven months in Connecticut.

He was driving in the right lane on Route 84 near the Sturbridge exit onto Interstate 90 from that visit. It had just started to drizzle, when he hit the right guard rail and because of the slick road, he slid across three lanes and went down a deep ravine into a cluster of trees, his mother said.

Witnesses reported it was dark, the roads were slick, and he was not speeding. The police investigation concluded he fell asleep at the wheel, she said. The medical examiner reported Zach died immediately of blunt head trauma when his car slid off the road into a deep ravine and into a cluster of trees. According to the medical examiner, he felt no pain and died instantaneously.

In addition to his mother and step-father Stevan Gold, Zach leaves behind his father Howard Mandelcorn; his brother Ethan Mandelcorn; stepbrother Gregory Gold and his grandmother Lee Gardner. He is also survived by many uncles, aunts, and cousins.

• For more about the GoFundMe donation page.

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how.