Popular teenager mourned

Boy killed in car accident

      Adam Barsel, a Hewlett High School sophomore, was a typical 15-year-old boy who loved to play soccer, was adored by girls and held a special place in his heart for the summer camp that he attended, treasuring the friendships he made there.
      The Woodmere teen apparently was on his way to a camp reunion at a Great Neck home when the livery van in which he and five other teens were riding flipped over at about 9 P.M. Saturday, Oct . 28, killing Adam, police said.
The 2000 Dodge Caravan had just left the northbound Cross Island Expressway and gotten on the Northern Boulevard exit ramp in Bayside, Queens, when the driver lost control and struck a guard rail, overturning the vehicle, officials said. All of the occupants were rushed to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset.
      One of the surviving teens attends Lawrence High School, one the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway, and the others, Hewlett High School, friends said. Other than Adam Barsel, the teens in the car were not identified by police, but were said to have suffered trauma, with one more seriously injured than the others. None of their injuries was life-threatening, police said.
      The driver, who also was not identified by police, was not charged in the accident, nor was he seriously injured, officials said.
      Adam's grief-stricken friends and teachers tried to console one another at the school on Monday morning.
      "We're a community in mourning," said Joyce Bisso, Hewlett High School principal. "Members of our community are very saddened by this."
      Ms. Bisso had been attending meetings all day Monday with a crisis intervention team, consisting of such support personnel as counselors, social workers and psychologists, for the benefit of students in need of comfort.
      "Adam made people smile," Ms. Bisso added. "He was full of potential. He was a very special young man."
      "It was just a horrible tragedy," said one friend of the family.
      About 1,200 mourners attended funeral services at Temple Sinai of Long Island on Washington Avenue in Lawrence on Monday, squeezing into the packed sanctuary to hear a eulogy for Adam, who was remembered as a "vibrant and mischievous" teenager. Many of the mourners arrived from Lawrence Middle School, where Adam's mother, Rhonda, teaches physical education; others arrived from Hewlett High School, where Adam was a popular student. "Grief counselors" were at work at both schools and at Lawrence High School, providing comfort for students who requested it.
      Rabbi Paula Winnig, spiritual leader of Temple Sinai of Long Island, opened the services by saying, "There is no greater sorrow than the sorrow for a child lost. ... It is hard to find meaning, hard to find consolation and impossible to find answers [for this tragedy]."
      Adam's sisters, Lori and Allison, gave a moving tribute to their brother, remembering him as "the pride and joy of the Barsel family. He was one of a kind," the sisters said.
      They said he commanded several nicknames, including "King Adam III," which they named him because, "Whatever Adam wanted, Adam got."
      Adam was mature for his age, they said. "He excelled in athletics and in girls," starring on soccer teams in and out of the school and earning the adoration of many girls who "flocked" to his side. He played for the high school's varsity soccer team and was a kicker for the junior varsity football team.
      His "passion for life was contagious" and "he was a beautiful young man," his sisters said.
      Ray Diamond, director at Camp Lokanda, said the teenager spent nine summers at the camp, where he easily made friends and was the star. He added that he enjoyed watching Adam grow "in stature and confidence" into a young man. Mr. Diamond said Adam won several honors at the camp last summer, including many hockey awards. He called Rhonda and Richard Barsel the perfect parents, who took an active role in Adam's activities. He said they insisted on being at the camp when their son competed in an event in which he would throw a softball the length of a basketball court and through a tire, which turned out to be an extraordinary feat. "Mom and Dad were crying like he had won the gold in the Olympics," his sisters said.
      A sobbing Mr. Diamond said, "To Adam, we will know you by these three things: Adam, we love you; Adam, we will miss you; and most important of all, Adam, we will remember you."
      A friend read a letter written by Adam, which relates his love for the camp and the special bond he made there. "Growing up in camp was the best years of my life," Adam wrote. [The camp] is where friends become best friends, and best friends become brothers. I love you guys like brothers."
      One of Adam's friends said, "Adam always had a smile on his face and was always there for me. There is nothing in the world that I would not do for Adam. Adam and I were best friends. Adam, I will always remember the little lessons that you taught me."
      Another friend, who said she was Adam's girlfriend in kindergarten, said, "I will always remember my best friend."      
      Following the funeral services, burial was at Beth Moses Cemetery.