GoFundMe Raises $10K For West Babylon Teen Killed In Crash

WEST BABYLON, NY — A Long Island community raised more than $10,000 to support the family of a 17-year-old who died in a Southern State Parkway crash on Saturday.

Osmar Vasquez, 17-years-old, of West Babylon, was the passenger in a 2009 Nissan Altima traveling westbound on the Southern State Parkway when the car left the road and struck trees and brush on the north shoulder, New York State Police said.

The crash happened around 1:30 a.m. in the westbound lanes between exits 36 and 37, police said.

Vasquez — a passenger in the front seat of the car — died at the scene, police said.

The 16-year-old driver of the car was taken to a local hospital, where police said they are in critical condition. The identity of the driver is being withheld at this time due to the ongoing investigation.

A GoFundMe was created on Monday to financially support Vasquez's family. As of Tuesday morning, it raised $10,825 out of a $12,000 goal.

"It has been said that a child’s soul never dies, and that it lives on in the hearts that are left behind. It is with the heaviest of hearts that we give Osmar Vasquez of West Babylon, NY the memorial he so deserves," the fundraiser description said. "Early Saturday morning a mother and father lost their child, their son.. a family lost the magic that was Osmar in a tragic car accident."

The description continued to say that he was a "smart and loving young man" with a "bright future" ahead of him.

"He was the light of his mother and father’s eyes and the hero big brother to his two younger brothers, Angel and Jayden. A family's lives changed forever with the untimely passing of such a young child."

Patch has reached out to the organizer of the GoFundMe for more information.

GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.