Lynbrook teen dies in car crash

A 13-year-old Lynbrook girl was in critical but stable condition after a car crash last week in Valley Stream in which her 15-year-old sister was killed.

At 9:23 p.m. on Jan. 27, according to Nassau County police, Cindy Garcia, 15, and her sister, Elizabeth Garcia Gamez, 13, were passengers in a 2000 Toyota driven by a 19-year-old male cousin, headed west on West Merrick Road near Boden Avenue. They were on their way home from Cindy’s Sweet 16 rehearsal held earlier that night.

The driver struck a 2009 Toyota Camry, driven by a 31-year-old man, which was making a U-turn in front of the 2000 Toyota, police said. The collision caused the older car to hit a number of parking meters and a utility pole on West Merrick Road, police said, before stopping in the eastbound lanes. Elizabeth Garcia was ejected from the vehicle.

All of those who were involved in the crash were taken to area hospitals, police said. Cindy Garcia was pronounced dead at 10:30 p.m. by doctors. Her sister was listed in critical condition at Winthrop University Hospital with severe head and body trauma, while the 19-year-old was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the other vehicle was not injured.

Cindy Garcia was a sophomore at Malverne High School. She entered the district is 2012, after attending Valley Stream schools. “Cindy was a positive and happy, spirited girl who was liked by many people,” Malverne Superintendent Dr. James Hunderfund said. “She enjoyed playing soccer and being with her friends. In the short time that she was with us, she left a huge impact within our district.”

Malverne High Principal Dr. Vincent Romano described Cindy as a sweet girl who always stayed positive, with a big smile, and was a student whom people always wanted to be around. “The children were just devastated when they found out [about her death] during the school day that morning,” Romano said. “She just had a really nice core of friends.”

Elizabeth Garcia Gamez is an eighth-grader at Howard T. Herber Middle School. Both girls were graduates of Clear Stream Avenue School in Valley Stream District 30. Richard Mansfield taught them both — Cindy in fifth grade, and Elizabeth in both fifth and sixth grade.