By Karen Frantz
A 16-year-old boy from Woodside was killed Friday night while on a bus to a Sweet 16 party after sticking his head through an emergency hatch and smashing his head against an overpass, according to the Port Authority.
Daniel Fernandez, who was a student at St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows, was on his way from the school to the party in Garfield, N.J., with 64 other students when the incident occurred at 6:30 p.m., said Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman.
He said the double-decker bus was headed for Route 95 near Fort Lee, N.J., when Fernandez hit his head against the underside of the Fletcher Avenue overpass.
Fernandez was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, Coleman said.
Friends and fellow students reacted in shock and mourning on social media Friday and Saturday.
“Remember all our jokes & laughs & how you would always make fun of me but then feel bad & tell me you loved me! #ripdan i love & miss you,” wrote Nikki Morales on Twitter.
Bergen County, N.J., prosecutors will make a determination about whether any charges will be filed, Coleman said.
Reach reporter Karen Frantz by e-mail at kfrantz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.
