Crash Survivors Mourn Dead, Tend To Wounded
BY JOHN TOSCANO

Kam Lao, father of the April Lao, is the proprietor of Perfect Image Digital Photo located on Broadway in Astoria.

In the tragic aftermath of last Friday's horrific New York Thruway crash, which took the lives of four Queens residents and hospitalized two others, the family-like unity of this group from Flushing's Asian community was sorely tested by the horrendous event but their love for one another has sustained them in the face of monumental grief.

As the survivors wrestle with the pain and grief triggered by the tragedy, Buddhist memorial services are being arranged in Flushing for later this week.

On Monday, Stanley Teitel, the principal of Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, called for moment of silence from the student body out of respect for the memory of April Lao, 14, and Kevin Kwan, 16, both victims of the crash who attended the school and were on the swim team.

On the day following the crash, as the word spread about the deaths of April Lao and Kevin Kwan, their swim teammates gathered at the school and wept.

A school staff member said, "They are devastated. These were smart, good students who were successful academically and athletically. I can't think of anything more tragic."

Also over the weekend, May Kwan, sister of Shuk Tse, the driver of the minivan that was struck, and aunt of Kevin Kwan, issued a statement defending her sister against police investigators' charges that Tse might have been at fault for stopping in the middle of a traffic lane on the Thruway instead of pulling over to the roadway shoulder.

May Kwan, in a statement signed by other relatives, stated, "There has been much media speculation about the circumstances surrounding the tragic accident. We strongly caution against drawing premature conclusions, especially since Philing (Tse) was an experienced and careful driver with an unblemished record."

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the New York State Police said on Monday that a final report on the accident will be released in a few days.

Killed in the Friday morning crash besides Shuk Tse and her son, Kevin Kwan, was another son, Douglas Jiang, 10, and April Lao.

Two other Lao family members, her mother Karen Lao, 43, and brother, Andy, 10, were injured. Mrs. Lao was listed in stable condition at the Westchester Medical Center, but Andy was listed there as critical. Doctors said it could be months before the young lad recovers from broken legs, skull fractures and a broken rib.

His father, Kam Lao, 38, an Astoria merchant who, like his wife, is a Cambodian immigrant, said it's likely Andy will suffer much more pain in the future because he is now heavily sedated.

Councilmember John Liu (D-Flushing), who has been counseling the grieving survivors, was almost at a loss for words in dealing with what he termed "this unspeakable tragedy."

"These kids held an unlimited amount of promise in their futures. It's hard to describe the pain that the family and the community is suffering, he said.

Last Friday, Tse was driving April Lao and Kevin Kwan, who were members of the Flushing Flyers Aquatic Club, based at the Flushing YMCA, and the others to a swimming competition in Buffalo.

According to police reports of the accident, at about 7 a.m., the group in the minivan had reached Tuxedo, New York when Tse suddenly turned on her flashers and stopped in the lane instead of pulling over to the shoulder of the highway. Police said she wanted to check a tire.

But a tractor-trailer truck immediately behind the minivan, driven by David Tichko, of New Jersey, slammed into the minivan and demolished it.

When the police responded, some of the van's passengers, apparently sent flying by the impact, lay on the shoulder of the highway. Sneakers and school books were strewn over the road. The van had been ripped in half, the state police said.

Police found four dead and two injured, who were removed to the Westchester Medical Center.

Tractor-trailer Driver Tichko suffered a shoulder injury which was not considered serious. He was not issued any citations for his part in the accident.

AYMCAspokesman said the children in the van were among 120 traveling to Buffalo from the Flushing Y. When they arrived there, they made the agonizing decision to go through with the meet and won six of 10 age-division events.

On Tuesday, Andy Lao opened his eyes for the first time to find his mother stroking his hand. He became so excited at seeing her for the first time that his heart monitor began moving wildly.

Wrapping Buddhist prayer beads around his wrist, she quieted him down. Andy's dad, Kam, sitting nearby, worried what his son's reaction would be to his sister's death when he is well enough to hear about it in the future.