Dad: Plainview teen killed was cautious driver

Between hugs and condolences from friends, Jerry Assa recalled how he cautioned his son, Brian, about the dangers of speeding when behind the wheel of a car."I spoke to him so many times," Assa said Saturday, a little more than 12 hours after his 16-year-old son died in a crash in Woodbury that police said involved a high speed. "I even told him I use cruise control so I don't speed," said Assa, speaking outside his Plainview home.Yesterday, David Darvas, 17, of Plainview, who was being driven in his 2001 Volkswagen Jetta by classmate Brian Assa, remained in Nassau University Medical Center in critical condition. Wayne Richards, a family friend from Plainview, said Darvas' condition had improved after surgery on Saturday. Among other injuries, Darvas suffered a broken leg, he said.
Assa, who got a learner's permit just after his October birthday, was doing well as a novice driver, Jerry Assa said. "He was cautious. I was proud of him."But the teen wasn't cautious enough Saturday morning, police said. The crashed occurred about 1:50 a.m. Saturday when Assa, a Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School student, lost control of the car on North Woodbury Road, police said.The car slammed into an overpass support, a utility pole and a tree. Brian Assa was pronounced dead at the scene.Det. Lt. Michael Fleming of Nassau police Homicide Squad said police hadn't determined how fast the car was going. Police said they do know that the two friends had taken the car out "to see how fast they could drive," he said Sunday. "These are all good kids, good students, whose lack of experience, combined with their poor judgment, caused this tragedy to result."As a permit holder, Assa was prohibited from driving without a licensed adult driver. "You can't have a 17-year-old supervising a 16-year-old," Fleming said.