Yorktown Teen Dies After 40-Feet Fall Into Croton Reservoir, Funeral Arrangements Are Set

The last time Brendan Frail's mother Diane would see and speak to him was before he and three of his friends went over to hang out at the old Putnam Railroad Bridge over the Croton Reservoir.

The 19-year-old man slipped and fell 40 feet to his death early Sunday morning. 

Today, family and friends gathered at the Frail residence to show their respects to Brendan's mother and older brother Kieran, who are mourning his sudden death. His father Francis "Frank" had died in the mid 1990s of a sudden heart attack.

The four friends had gone down to the bridge, now part of a bike and walking path around 11:39 p.m. Saturday. They climbed over a rail and sat on an abutment; and it was as they got up to leave 45 minutes later that the man fell, a New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) spokesman said.

Frail was sitting on the bridge abutments and accidentally slipped while trying to step back from the edge. Apparently before hitting the water, Frail struck his head on the bridge. The Westchester Medical Examiner's Office determined during an autopsy that he died from a brain contusion and asphyxia by drowning.

His friends spent several minutes searching for him before calling police at 12:23 a.m. The Yorktown police and fire departments responded to the call and the formal search began. Frail's body was found nine hours after his fall.

Brendan, a 2008 Yorktown High School graduate, was a competitive swimmer, he played band, and was a member of the wind, ensemble and jazz band. He was also a National Honor Society student.

Frail attended Providence College and would have been a member of the class of 2012. He was majoring in elementary/special education to become a teacher. A spokesperson for the college said they have been informed of his death. They will provide counseling once students get back the week after Labor Day weekend.

Family and friends gathered today at the Frail home on Glenrock Street to pay their respects to Brendan's mother Diane, and his older brother Kieran, a 2005 YHS graduate.

Diane Frail said she last saw her son before he and his friends headed to the bridge.

"Brendan Frail was a bright, kind, thoughtful, and generous young man who had a great future ahead of him," Superintendent of the Yorktown Schools Dr. Napolitano said in a statement. "His death is a loss to his family, the Yorktown community, Providence College, and to all of those who would have benefited from his goodness. He will be missed."

When Brendan was in seventh grade, he successfully led an effort along with classmate Ali Belcastro to rename Pinetree Field in Yorktown to Harrison Apar Field of Dreams. Apar had a rare form of dwarfism and died at the age of 13 in 2003.

On a Facebook page "R.I.P. Brendan Frail" dedicated to Brendan, family and friends wrote on the wall expressing their grief. There are over 800 members of the page, and the number continues to grow.

"Just was thinking about all your efforts to get Harrison's Field of Dreams to become a reality, that was such an incredible thing to do!" wrote Jillian Scambia, a 2005 YHS graduate. "I admire the kind of person who put others before yourself, and I admire that. Praying for you and your family."

"My heart is broken," wrote Denise Girolamo, a YHS math teacher. "You made me laugh every day for two years. I love you Bren."

Diane Frail said a Brendan Frail Memorial Scholarship would be set up and given away at the YHS senior nights awards.

A spokesperson for the DEP said they are aware the bike trail and bridge are frequently used, and that they have received and responded to complaints of kids jumping off.

A spokesperson for the Westchester County Police said the bridge known as the trestle is owned by the Department of Transportation, while the watershed (2,000 square miles) is owned by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. Portions of the trailway is owned by Westchester County and the county police patrols the trailway.

Kieran O'Leary, the spokesman, said they get very few complaints of kids jumping off the bridge, and it was not a regular ongoing problem because usually the kids would do it on a dare.

There was no indication the four young men wanted to jump off the bridge. Toxicology reports are yet to follow.

Mateusc Kocuida, 20, of Mohegan Lake; Dillon Reilly, 19, of Cortlandt Manor; and Brendan Cannini, 19, of Yorktown, were at the bridge at the time of the incident.

"My family and I would like to thank everyone for all of their kind words and prayers for Brendan," his brother Kieran wrote on Facebook. "Your sentiments have really helped us get through this tough time."

Funeral arrangements have been made at the Beecher Funeral Home, 418 Bedford Rd. in Pleasantville from 4 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 25. Mass will be celebrated at St. Patrick's Church in Yorktown Heights on Thursday, Aug. 26 at 10 a.m. Burial will follow at the Gate of Heaven.