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Ana Castro, a Southampton High School senior from Tuckahoe, was killed in a car accident during a trip to visit relatives in El Salvador on December 23, three days after her 18th birthday.
The trip was a special one for her: She had just been accepted into college, she was about to turn 18, and it was her last winter break of her high school career. So her parents, Vilma and Jose Fredy Castro, surprised her with a plane ticket to El Salvador to celebrate with her relatives, with plans to return on January 2, according to Isabel Sepulveda-de Scanlon, a community liaison to the Southampton Union Free School District.
Her older brother, Freddy Castro, said that Ana was going to the beach with relatives when they were hit by another car. She died instantly in the collision.
Her parents traveled to El Salvador in an attempt to bring their daughter’s body back to the United States but may have to wait until January 3 due to government offices being closed for the holidays, Mr. Castro said.
Ana, who played lacrosse in high school, would have been the first member of her family to attend college, Mr. Castro said. He did not get the chance to ask her what school had accepted her.
“She was a very special girl. She touched a lot of lives,” Ana’s brother said. “It’s tough, especially around this time of year. It’s going to be tough every year.”
Mr. Castro explained that he was the first one in his family on Long Island to hear the news. He received a call from a family friend while he was at work that day.
“That was the hardest thing I have ever heard in my entire life. I was devastated,” he said. “I knew at some point I was going to have to do this for someone, but I thought it would be for my grandparents, because they’re older. Never in a million years did I think it would be for my little sister.”
He later went on, “This girl was everything to my parents. I mean everything. Anything that she wanted, she’d get it from my parents.”
Mr. Castro and his cousin, Jose Erik Ramirez, began a GoFundMe page on December 23 to raise enough money to bring Ana’s body back and cover funeral expenses. In eight days, 426 people donated $24,145, exceeding the family’s $18,000 goal.
“I’m forever going to be grateful,” Mr. Castro said of the support he and his family have received. “In hard times like this, the community comes together, and it’s a blessing.”
Ana is also survived by another older brother, Arlin Castro, who has two children.
“We are absolutely devastated by the loss of Southampton High School senior Ana Castro,” Principal Brian Zahn said. “She was an amazing young lady who had a very bright future ahead of her.”
Mr. Zahn said that the school will provide support services to students upon their return from winter break on January 2. School administrators were prepared to meet with the senior class first thing Wednesday morning to inform them of the school support services and funeral plans, as stated in a post on the Southampton School District Information Facebook page.
Mr. Zahn added that they were trying to support the family’s efforts to return with Ana’s body, and he encouraged everyone to visit the GoFundMe page.
“The school wants to help any way it can to make things easier,” said Ms. Sepulveda, who has been in contact with the family.
on Dec 27, 2018