One of the teen girls killed in a horrific Staten Island crash was the sister of an NYPD cop and had excitedly planned her Sweet 16 party for next week – while the other two fatal victims were siblings with an “unbreakable bond,” kin and cops said Monday.
Ashley Rodriguez, 15, was killed Sunday night along with brother and sister Jesie Gil, 15, and Fernanda Gil, 16, after the Ford Mustang they were riding in, driven by a teen driver with only a learner’s permit, was cut in half when it collided with another vehicle in Tottenville.
At the time, the teens were on their way back from a nearby deli, relatives said.
“My baby sister isn’t here with us due to an unfortunate accident last night,” Rodriguez’s brother, Charle Cruz Gonzalez, wrote in a wrenching GoFundMe post.
“It hurts to write this. Her birthday, her sweet sixteen is next week. It was all planned out… but now she won’t experience this moment.”
Ashley Rodriguez, 15, was one of the three teenagers killed in a Staten Island car crash on Sunday night. GoFundMe
Jesie Gil was one of the victims in the fatal car accident, along with his sister. Family handout
Fernanda Gil, 15, was one of the victims in the Ford Mustang. Family handout
Rodriguez was the brother of an NYPD officer and was a week from celebrating her Sweet 16. Video by Dakota Santiago (FreedomNewsTV)Gonzalez said he is trying to raise money to help the family cover the teen’s funeral expenses.
“I don’t ever ask for help, but this untimely horrible event is pushing me to ask,” he wrote. “Anything would help me and my mom, thank you everyone.”
The family hopes to hold a wake at the Colonial Funeral Home on Staten Island and bury Rodriguez at Ocean View, the brother said.
The tragic teen’s sister Giselle Cruz also shared the GoFundMe on her Facebook page.
“My baby sister … Rest in Pease Ashley … Forever My Little Angel,” Giselle wrote.
“Please guys anything will help my baby sister was only 15 years old a share will even be so much appreciated,” she added. “The only sister I had is gone now but flying high.”
One of Rodriguez’s siblings is an officer with the NYPD, police sources said. The cop declined to speak when reached by The Post by phone. It’s unclear if he is Charle.
“It’s an ongoing investigation,” the brother told The Post before hanging up. “I’m [a Member of Service] so I’m not trying to go through this right now.”
The Ford Mustang the teens were riding in was cut in half after hitting another vehicle near Hylan Boulevard and Richard Avenue. Video by Dakota Santiago (FreedomNewsTV)Meanwhile, the Gil siblings’ aunt and uncle said the family is destroyed over their deaths.
“It’s like a nightmare,” Juan Sanchez, the teens’ uncle, told The Post at his home.
“We’re trying right now [to plan the funeral] with someone who was helping us plan a wedding. We’ve never been in this situation.”
Debris left at the scene of the crash in Staten Island. Gregory P. MangoFernanda’s best friend created another GoFundMe page for the three teens’ funeral expenses and wrote that her pal “was the most kind hearted, thoughtful, most caring person I’ve ever known.
“She had a beautiful soul and was always upbeat. Her and her brother were always so close and had an unbreakable bond,” the friend, who described herself only as Quelina, wrote on the page.
“[Jesie] was a shy person but yet very funny at times as well as Ashley. Fernanda and her family were very close and I can only imagine the hurt that [they’re] going through at this time.”
A memorial to the victims at the scene of the crash. Gregory P. MangoRina Dubeik, whose daughter Juju has been close friends with Fernanda since elementary school, said she was surprised the two siblings would be riding with someone who was speeding.
“They stay home a lot. If they want to go anywhere, they go with the family,” said Dubeik, adding Juju was too distraught to speak.
“She’s quiet. She’s nice, very nice. She’s so polite,” she said of Fernanda.
Dubeik’s younger daughter Noor Dubeik, 9, said Fernanda was “like an older sister to me.”
“Fernanda is actually really nice. When she comes over with my sister she’s always talking to me saying how is your day and she’s just really nice,” the child said.
Around 8:45 p.m. Sunday, Rodriguez and Jesie were in the backseat of the 2018 muscle car driven by an unidentified 16-year-old when it collided with a 2017 GMC Yukon.
Police said the Mustang was traveling at an “unsafe speed” and that the impact with the Yukon was so strong, the teens’ car split in two.
Rodriguez and Jesie were both ejected from the car and pronounced dead at the scene.
Fernanda, who was in the front seat, later died from her injuries at Staten Island University Hospital North. The driver is at the same hospital, where he is listed in critical but stable condition.
The 47-year-old driver of the Yukon sustained minor injuries and was taken into custody for driving with a suspended license.
No charges have been filed in connection with the grisly crash, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Additional reporting by Tina Moore and Valentina Jaramillo
