By Angela Marshall
According to police, Kyle Ferdinand, 16, was driving a 1999 Porsche at a high rate of speed when he hit a tree on Lakeview Avenue at about 5 a.m. on Aug. 5. He was taken to Mercy Medical Center where he later died.
The car was stolen from a John Court residence in Baldwin. Dan Braco and his family were upstairs sleeping with the air conditioner on and did not hear the burglar enter his house to take the keys, which were later found in the car driven by Ferdinand.
Police showed up at Braco's house at 5:30 a.m. to tell him his car was stolen and totaled, and the driver was dying in the hospital. At 5:30 in the morning that's what I woke up to, Braco said.
Braco is still trying to get a handle on his emotions. He feels violated because someone entered his home and stole his car, which is totally mangled.
The incident made him feel insecure in his home and he has decided to upgrade his security.
The incident is also very painful because the kid died. Braco feels sympathy for Ferdinand's family.
Earlier in the morning of the incident, an attempted burglary with some similarities was reported. Thomas F. Plesser, Jr. of Lakeview Avenue reported that a burglar tried to get in through his windows at about 1:45 a.m. His house alarm went off, scaring the burglar away. Plesser also owns a Porsche.
Fortunately, my house alarm went off, alerting my family to the attempt and saving my vehicle from being stolen, Plesser wrote in an E-mail.
