Bergen County Girl, 16, Killed By Train Always Made Others Smile

FRANKLIN LAKES, NJ — Kasie Del Otero went out of her way to include students, and make them feel like all the other kids.

Kasie would eat lunch with some of them, and talk to them, and be a friend to them. She would hang out with them at recess, a friend, Brianna Foster, wrote on her obituary page.

Del Otero, 16, of Franklin Lakes was struck and killed by an NJ Transit train track in Clifton Sunday. She was a sophomore at Ramapo High School.

"Whether or not she knew it, her one of a kind sense of humor and kind heart impacted the lives of so many the same way it did for me," Jackie Wilchek said on Del Otero's obituary page.

Others agreed, noting her efforts to include everybody. "No one asked her to, and no one told her to do this," Foster said. "It was just who she was."

Del Otero's friends spoke of her ability to make them smile.

"I never saw Kasie without a smile on her face, and it really was the smile that brightened up anyone’s day," said Dani Umrichin. "I am so thankful that I was able to call her one of my closest friends, and hear her laugh, because it was the single best cackle I’ve ever heard. I love you Kasie, I’ll miss you forever."

"Although I didn't know her for a long time, we instantly became friends," Carolina Broekhuizen said. "Whether it was sharing writing ideas, complaining about having to participate in soccer or cramming information for our Drivers Ed. test, she always brought a smile to my face."

Beverly MacKay, superintendent of the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District, said "We are all very saddened by her death and are keeping the family in our thoughts and prayers."

Del Otero is survived by her parents, Thomas and Aurelia, grandmother Aurelia Zitman, and sisters Emily and Isabelle.

A memorial Mass will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at Most Blessed Sacrament R.C. Church, 787 Franklin Lakes Road, Franklin Lakes.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in her memory be made to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

NJ Transit spokeswoman Lisa Torbic said a girl "was trespassing on the tracks" when she was hit at about 5:30 a.m. Sunday but could not provide details on how the girl was hit or why she was on the tracks. NJ Transit is investigating the incident.

Related: Franklin Lakes Girl, 16, Fatally Struck By NJ Transit Train

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Photo: Kasie Del Otero (Vander Plaat-Vermeulen Memorial Home)