RSS 2.0 FeedSeptember 30, 2010, Wantagh Seaford Citizen
Brittany Vega: Everyone’s favorite hello and hardest goodbye
The community gathers to say goodbye to Brittany Vega.
A small group of girls sat forlornly near a utility pole at the corner of Sunrise Highway and Wantagh Avenue on Sunday afternoon. The pole was festooned with flowers, votive candles, balloons and other decorative objects that now serve as a memorial to the friend they lost.
They were among the hundreds, perhaps thousands of people from Wantagh and beyond who paid their last respects at a nearby funeral home over the weekend to 14-year-old Brittany Vega, daughter of Daniel and Sandi Vega, who was killed September 22 when she was struck by a car while trying to cross Sunrise Highway on the way to school about 6:20 a.m.
Nassau police reported that Brittany was struck by a 2004 Toyota Camry as she hurried north across Sunrise. Apparently the traffic light had turned green before she could cross safely. Nassau police did not identify the 36-year-old male driver, who stopped and remained at the scene. She was pronounced dead 35 minutes later at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, police said.
Brittany had just started her freshman year at Wantagh High School and apparently had hopes of becoming a forensic scientist. Several friends remembered her with great affection. “We did Girl Scouts together,” said Nicolette Mallios, also a freshman at WHS. “She played violin and liked to sing. She was also into punk rock.”
On display along a wall of the Wantagh Abby funeral home were several of her Girl Scout achievement awards and a National Junior Art Honor Society certificate that highlighted her accomplishment in that area. Another classmate, Vivian Lipuma, described her as one of her best friends.
“We had seven classes together and hung out a lot after school. She loved singing and drawing and playing guitar. She was an amazing singer.”
“She would write her own songs,” added Kelly Brown, who sang in the chorus with Brittany and also praised her singing.
“She was also a very smart kid and a really great friend,” said another close friend, Rachel Epstein. “She gave out this warmth. She was a girl that every girl wanted to be.” “And that everyone loved,” added Kelly. On Brittany’s Facebook page, friends have been leaving messages of love, grief, and disbelief.
Tyler Dema, a classmate at Wantagh High School, wrote that after the wake, he “literally ran out of tears.” Friends Marisa Drago and Skylar Aiosa told The Citizen, “Brittany was never seen without a smile on her face, and she always made everyone happy.
She is truly missed by everyone in Wantagh, especially the class of 2014.” Listed as one of Brittany’s favorite quotations in her Facebook profile is the simple line, “I want to be your favorite hello and your hardest goodbye.” This poignant quote is followed by another, “How can I forget when you gave me so much to remember?”
Brittany Vega is survived by her parents, Daniel and Sandi Vega, sister Julia Rose, brothers Jason Daniel and Brendan Thomas. She is also survived by her grandparents Thomas and Patty Rohan and Rubin and Dorothy Phillips, as well as her great grandmother, Anna Blanche. She is also survived by many aunts, uncles and cousins. A funeral service was held on Monday at the Bellmore Presbyterian Church followed by interment at the North Babylon Cemetery. At the funeral, Rev. Jim Barnum noted that she loved animals and recalled, “Brittany touched many lives.”
- Ilana Redler and Paul Laursen contributed to this story
