Grief-torn relatives and friends of three children killed in a Fourth of July boating accident poured into a Long Island funeral home yesterday for the first in a string of heart-wrenching memorial services.
Hundreds turned out for David Aureliano’s wake at the Brueggemann Funeral Home in East Northport. David, 12, was one of three kids trapped in the cabin of his family’s boat when it capsized in Oyster Bay after a fireworks show.
“It’s just a wonderful, close-knit family,” said Susanne Woods, who’s known the Aurelianos for 12 years.
David, cousin Harlie Treanor, 11, and friend Victoria Gaines, 7, were among the 27 people aboard The Kandi Won, a 34-foot cabin cruiser, when it overturned, creating chaos in the dark waters just before a thunderstorm rolled in.
Services for Harlie are set to begin today at the M.A. Connell Funeral Home in Huntington Station. A lawyer for Harlie’s dad, Kevin Treanor, who owns the boat, said the sunken vessel could be raised as early as Tuesday.
Insurance-company lawyer James Mercante said “it could take months” before officials know what caused the accident. Nassau cops are still trying to determine who will raise the boat and when.