By Steve Mosco
A young Howard Beach resident was laid to rest Thursday less than a week after he was struck and killed by a subway train, and a 33-year-old man has been charged with attempted assault in his death, police said.
Joshua Basin, 20, was killed after he and another man fell onto the train tracks Friday following a fight at the Bedford Avenue L train station in Brooklyn, according to the NYPD.
Police said Wednesday that Ryan Beauchamp of Larchmont, N.Y. was arrested and charged with attempted assault and harassment in connection with Basin’s death.
A day later, family and friends gathered at St. Helen’s Roman Catholic Church in Howard Beach to say their final farewells to the LaGuardia Community College student. With many mourners clutching tissues, one friend read a letter he wrote to Basin and recalled his friend’s dreams of hitting it big.
“The moments we shared were priceless,” the friend told mourners. “When we spoke about getting famous, you made me realize that it was important to keep some of the same people around you if we made it, just so we could remain balanced and not lose touch with our roots. The biggest thing I learned from you was to be myself and live every day, every moment, like it was my last.”
Beauchamp allegedly started the fight with Basin while getting off the L train, police said. After both men fell onto the tracks, Basin was not able to escape before being struck by the train, according to the NYPD.
