Young Rockville Centre resident mourned after car crash

Funeral preparations have been finalized for Joseph “Jay” Rizzuto, a 22-year-old Rockville Centre resident who died after an automobile accident that occurred in icy conditions on Route 9W in Cornwall, N.Y., at around 10 p.m. on Jan. 18.

The Binghamton University senior was alone in his car, driving back to school, his father, Joseph Rizzuto, told the Herald, when he came upon a truck that was stopped on the two-lane highway. As he attempted to maneuver around it, Rizzuto’s car spun out and hit the truck. He was taken to Westchester Medical Center with serious head and lung injuries and was in a medically induced coma until he died on Sunday. According to his father, police determined that alcohol was not a factor in the crash.

Rizzuto, a history major who was considering going on to law school, attended St. Agnes Cathedral School and South Side Middle School, and graduated from Chaminade High School in Mineola. He was a member of the tennis teams at South Side Middle School and Chaminade, and played club tennis at Binghamton.

“He was such a wonderful, nice boy,” said Kevin Kavanagh, whose son, Kevin, met Rizzuto when they were in kindergarten. “We loved being around him. I can’t say enough about him and his family.” The two families, Kavan-agh said, grew close and took vacations together. “Just pray for the family,” he said. “This is total devastation.”

“The entire Chaminade Family grieves at the loss of one of our sons,” Brother Thomas Cleary, president of Chaminade, said in a statement as tributes began pouring in. “Jay was a great Flyer; we fondly remember his outgoing personality as well as his dedication and hard work. He and his family remain in our prayers.”

Rizzuto is survived by his parents, Janine and Joseph; two brothers, Billy, a freshman at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., and Andrew, a senior at South Side High School; and grandparents Joseph and Barbara Rizzuto and George and Janice Smith. He was the nephew of Joseph (Anne) Smith, Christine Lambiaso, Nicholas (Kristen) and Michael (Deborah) Rizzuto and Barbara (Keith) Soltis, and had many cousins.

A wake is scheduled for Thursday and Friday at Macken Mortuary, 52 Clinton Ave., from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. A 9:30 a.m. funeral Mass was scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 28, at St. Agnes Cathedral, followed by interment at Holy Rood in Westbury.