School District Offers Help For Students, Staff After Fatal Crash

SUFFERN, NY — Suffern school district officials are offering grief and trauma counseling and support to the community, which is reeling from a car crash Saturday that killed one student and led to the arrest of a second on drunken driving charges.

One of five teens in the car, Suffern High School sophomore Jacqueline Zangrilli, was declared dead at the scene, police said. They alleged the driver, a 17-year-old Suffern resident, was intoxicated. He was charged with manslaughter 2nd, assault 2nd, vehicular assault 1st, vehicular manslaughter 2nd and DWI and arraigned virtually in Rockland County Youth Superior Court.

Suffern High School Patrick Breen sent a letter to parents and students Sunday offering counseling and support services at the school.

Other local school districts and counselors from the Rockland Board of Cooperative Educational Services are also available, Acting Superintendent Lisa Weber said Monday.

"Parents and students are encouraged to reach out to their school counselor, teacher and/or building principal if they would benefit from speaking with someone," Weber said on the district website. "The resilience we share in our community was evident this weekend through the support shown at Suffern High School. We will get through this the same way we have gotten through other challenges and tragedies; supporting each other, together, as one. I am grateful to be part of a community that pulls together in times of crisis.

"Our broader community is there for us, too. Many of our county high schools participated in a
'Blue and White Day' on Monday to show their support for Suffern Central. We are humbled
and strengthened by the support of our neighbors and fellow residents."

Zangrilli's mother is a teacher in Pearl River, and district officials there encouraged members of that community to wear blue and white.