By Matthew Monks
Anthony Costa, 23, a recent Queensborough Community College graduate from Sunnyside, was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after midnight, police said.
Costa, whose father, Ronald, is the principal of PS 12 in Woodside, was returning from a party with a friend when he apparently lost control of his 1998 Nissan, police and friends said.
Truman Lofton, 21, the passenger, tried in vain to pull Costa from the wreck before it burst into flames, enduring third-degree burns on his face and hands, Newsday reported. He was removed to Cornell Medical Center, where he was listed in serious but stable condition, police said.
Police said they were investigating the accident.
Costa, a caddie at Fresh Meadow Country Club, was a film and sports fanatic who was always quick with a joke, friends said.
“He could light up a room just by making a wise crack or telling a funny story,” said Tim Smith, 33, his boss at Fresh Meadow. “Everybody just loved the kid.”
Costa got a job at the club five years ago and had been working part time while finishing school. He had many close friends at work, Smith said, and was getting ready to return full time this week.
“When the news hit here Sunday, a lot of people couldn't believe it,” Smith said. “He was just a happy-go-lucky guy.”
Costa, whose friends nicknamed him “Cozmo” as a play on his last name, planned to continue college at North Carolina State University, said his friend Keith Verdee, 30, of Bayside. He had dreams of becoming and actor in New York.
Verdee was among Costa's tight-knit group of friends who caught the aspiring actor last month in the Queensborough production “Polaroid Stories.” Costa inhabited the part of a young street thug, Verdee said.
“He played the part to a tee. We all just loved every minute of it,” Verdee said.
Costa, who lived with his mother on 48th Street, had a huge DVD collection that he would watch with a group of lifelong friends from the neighborhood where he grew up, Verdee said. “Rocky and “Star Wars” were favorites.
The 23-year-old was also big into the NBA and college basketball, Verdee said, and was always decked out in the latest jersey.
“He set his own style and everyone followed.”
Reach reporter Matthew Monks by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
