Oxford High School held a school-wide advisory period Monday morning to help students cope with the death of Brandon Giordano, a 15-year-old killed in a car crash off Route 67 late Friday.
A letter from Principal Frank Savo was posted on the school’s website describing Giordano as a “bright and popular student,” saying the accident is a tragedy to the boy’s family, “our school, and our community.”
Staff members were at the school until 8 p.m. Saturday to help students cope with the news, according to Cavo’s letter.
“For many, this may be their first exposure to death,” Cavo’s letter read. “Some children may need to meet individually with district psychologists, social workers, and counselors.
“Although classroom instruction will continue as always, I anticipate that the next few days will be particularly difficult for everyone,” the letter went on.
Cavo said parents with children who need to speak to someone about the incident may contact the school’s assistant principal, Glenn Lungarini, school psychologist Deb Hull, or any of the school’s counselors – Walter Signora, Alicia Mancinone, or Sophia Velez, Katie Molinaro, or Cavo at 203 – 888-2468.
‘Terrible Tragedy’
The crash scene was described by Oxford Fire Chief Scott Pelletier as one of the worst he’s seen in more than three decades of being a firefighter.
About 35 Oxford volunteer firefighters responded to the crash, Pelletier said, and used the Jaws of Life to take off the car’s passenger door.
Firefighters used high-pressure airbags to lift the car and it took four minutes from the time firefighters arrived on scene to remove Dion Major, the front passenger; five minutes to remove Giordano, who was in the back seat on the driver’s side; and slightly longer than that to remove Ramirez, the driver, from the vehicle, Pelletier said.
It took longer to get Ramirez out because of where he was positioned; all told, it took firefighters 18 minutes to get everybody out of the vehicle, a good response time considering the magnitude of the crash, Pelletier said.
Emergency Medical Technicians from the Oxford volunteer ambulance crew treated all three.
Several people, including some parents and their teenagers, went to the scene on Saturday to pay their respects and to get a better idea of what happened. Some said they wanted their teens to see the devastation so that it may serve as a lesson.
“Hopefully, the kids of Oxford can learn from this,” Pelletier said in a phone interview with the Oxford Patch Saturday morning. “This is a terrible tragedy and our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those involved. All we can do now as a community is be there for them and to continue to educate our children.”
Messages of love for Giordano were plastered Saturday all over social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, and in the comments sections of news sites that covered the story.
Several students at the high school changed their Facebook profile pictures to the number 69 – Giordano’s football number – with “RIP Brandon Giordano” written underneath. Others posted messages saying they are reaching out to their loved ones and gave inspirational remarks, such as you can’t take life for granted because things can change in a second. And many sent their thoughts, prayers and love out to Ramirez, saying they hope and pray he will pull through.
Town Officials React
“He was an Oxford kid …” said First Selectman George Temple. “… A typical good kid.”
Temple has a son who is also a sophomore on the football team at OHS and was friends with Giordano.
“It’s really affected the kids in the school,” Temple said. “It’s tough for everybody to deal with. …He was a good kid and there are a lot of kids in that category. It’s a good day to hug your kid.”
Temple and others who were on scene last night and early this morning said that’s exactly what they did when they got home. The first selectman said he arrived home at 4 a.m. and that his son was awake, very upset and trying to figure out what happened.
“I’m sure that was true throughout the town,” Temple said.
He said the emergency services crews in Oxford did a phenomenal job and should be commended.
Board of Education Chairwoman Paula Guillet was also on scene after the ambulance had transported the victims. She said the car didn’t look like a car: “It looked like a ball of aluminum foil,” she said.
She said she sends her deepest sympathies out to the families and friends involved.
“I hope everybody can support each other in this time of deep grief,” she said.
Memorial information for Brandon Giordano can be found here.
This article is a collaboration between the Valley Independent Sentinel and Oxford Patch. We are working together to bring readers a comprehensive overview of this terrible tragedy.
