Teen killed in two-car crash in Woodmere; fifth fatal accident on Peninsula Boulevard in two years

The fifth fatal vehicular accident in just over two years on a stretch of Peninsula Boulevard in Woodmere has Melanie Kail once again calling for traffic mitigation measures, especially on a portion of the roadway where the most recent crash occurred.

Last Saturday at 10:58 p.m., at the intersection of Peninsula Boulevard and Edward Avenue, a 2014 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck was traveling north on Peninsula Boulevard when it collided with a white 2018 Audi Q5 SUV that was turning south onto Peninsula, police said.

All five of the people in the Audi SUV were taken to an area hospital. At 11:45 p.m., Liel Namdar, 15, a sophomore at the Torah Academy for Girls in Far Rockaway, was pronounced dead by a hospital staff doctor, according to police. Miriam Meltser, 38, the driver of the Audi, suffered serious injuries. Her daughter Aliza and two other girls sustained less serious injuries, officials said.

“The tragedy that occurred this weekend has shaken the community,” said Kail, a member of the Woodmere Fire Department and a fire district commissioner. “When I first posted that petition nearly two years ago, it was as a result of an awful accident involving a pedestrian struck. The accident was at the same corner as this weekend’s tragedy — a corner where I have seen far too many horrific accidents as an active firefighter in this district.” 

On Sept. 1, Woodmere resident Tobias Levkovich, a pedestrian, was killed when a car hit him as he crossed Peninsula Boulevard between Island and Longacre avenues, near Young Israel of Woodmere. On Feb. 21, 2020, a man died in a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Lafayette Drive and Peninsula.

On Nov. 19, 2019, Queens Village resident Keith Bailey, a passenger in a small truck, was killed in a one-vehicle crash on Peninsula.

Another Woodmere resident, Stewart Hecht, was killed on Dec. 31, 2019, when he was struck by a vehicle at the intersection of Edward Avenue and Peninsula. After Hecht’s death, Kail started an online petition calling for a traffic signal at that intersection to reduce the likelihood of accidents and increase pedestrian safety. As of press time, more than 10,500 people had signed it.

“I am asking our representation in the county and state to conduct an emergency review,” Kail said. “The first step is to potentially approve a temporary no-left-turn sign while further investigation and research is conducted on the best approach to mitigating dangerous conditions without inhibiting traffic unfairly.”

After the most recent incident, Arlin Javier Aguilera, 34, of Washington Avenue in West Hempstead, was arrested and charged with second-degree vehicular manslaughter, second-degree vehicular assault and driving while intoxicated. Aguilera was arraigned on Sunday. His next court date was scheduled for Tuesday, as the Herald went to press. A bail bond of $200,000 or $100,000 cash was posted. As of press time, he did not have an attorney.

Handling the grief
After the accident, Torah Academy for Girls officials issued a statement: “It is with heartbreak and anguish that we must share with you that one of our 10th grade students, Liel Namdar, was tragically nifteres (deceased) in a car accident last night.”

The Far Rockaway school was open Sunday night for the sophomores, and any other students. Zahava Farbman, a social worker with 25 years of experience in crisis intervention, trauma and bereavement, is assisting the school.

On Monday night, more than 100 people joined a Zoom call on which Farbman answered questions. Namdar, a Great Neck resident who, along with the other girls, was returning from a Sternberg summer camp reunion when she was killed, had friends across the metropolitan area.

During the Q&A, Farbman stressed that it was early in the bereavement process, and it was natural for people to have feelings ranging from tremendous sadness to loss to guilt. “Having Liel in our lives and losing Liel is never going to go away,” she said. “You will find a way to keep her in your life.”

Farbman responded to a person who said she felt like she was “buried under a ton of bricks” by saying, “Stay under that ton of bricks, then give yourself permission to leave.”
“It is totally normal at this time not to have an appetite, to have a loss of sleep and not to be able to focus,” Farbman said, “It’s OK not to be OK.” Comparing the pain of grief to having stitches to close a wound, she said, “It hurts less every day,” while acknowledging that it is too early in the grieving process to accept that advice.

Summer camp directors Dov and Allyson Perkal also issued a statement on Namdar’s death, which read, in part, “The Sternberg [Camp] community is always a family and as such, while we usually laugh and sing together, unfortunately, we sometimes must cry together. We are so sorry to have to share such horrible news.”

The camp also offered the services of its psychologist, Dr. Ditza Berger, at (646) 942-4900, for counseling. Chai Lifeline, a global children’s health support network, offered its 24-hour crisis hotline, at (855) 327-4747, or by email at crisis@chailifeline.org.

On a video, Namdar’s father, Efraim, spoke about his daughter, whose funeral service took place on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem on Monday. “My Liel, she was special,” he said. “Always had a smile, her smile was contagious. She’d walk into a room and I literally felt it light up. She had a heart that was so compassionate. She cared for everybody.”

To help the Meltser family, Kehillas Bnai Hayshivos, in Valley Stream, set up a donation page through the Chesed Fund. Go to the chesedfund.com/kbh/motherof3 or call (518) 323-0376.