Plainview teen killed while speeding

A 16-year-old Plainview boy with a learner's permit died early Saturday when he lost control of his friend's car while trying to find out "how fast it would go," Nassau police said.Brian Assa, a Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School junior, was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after the 1:50 a.m. crash in Woodbury, police said.A passenger, David Darvas, 17, also of Plainview, was taken to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow and admitted in critical condition. A family member said Darvas was in surgery Saturday afternoon.
While loved ones kept vigil for Darvas, Assa was remembered as a beloved teenager."He was absolutely amazing," said Vanessa Assa, Brian's 28-year-old sister. "Everybody loved him, his friends' parents, his teachers."According to Nassau County police, Assa was driving Darvas' 2001 Volkswagen Jetta north on Woodbury Road at a high speed.Darvas, who has a senior license, was in the front passenger's seat when the Jetta approached the Seaford Oyster Bay Expressway overpass and Assa lost control, police said.The Jetta drifted across the southbound lanes and onto a sidewalk before it hit a wall supporting the overpass. It continued and crashed into a LIPA pole before finally striking a tree, police said. Both teens were wearing seat belts, and neither alcohol nor drugs were involved, police said.After dropping off other friends, Assa and Darvas were attempting to see "how fast it would go," said Nassau Det. Michael Fleming."This was simply a gross misjudgment," Fleming said.Police found 300 feet of skid marks at the crash scene but hadn't determined the car's crash speed.At the Assa family's home on Spector Lane, Brian's father, Jerry Assa, 55, said his son's friends called him early Saturday after the crash.He said he rushed to the scene but police stopped him."They wouldn't let us near it," Assa said of the wreck. "Electrical wires were down."Assa said witnesses had told him his son wasn't driving, information contradictory to the police account of the crash."They didn't know who was who for sure," Assa said of emergency workers who freed the teens from the wreck.At NUMC, Darvas' family and about 10 students gathered on the second floor to await news of his condition.Wayne Richards, of Plainview, a relative of the Darvas family, said the boy's parents weren't commenting because their son just had surgery.Brian Assa was a soccer player who made the varsity as a junior, his father said. But a knee injury kept him from playing this past season."He loved it," Jerry Assa said. "He played multiple positions. Mostly, he loved playing halfback."Sherry Gordon was one of the visitors to the Assa home yesterday to pay respects. She said her son, Brian Gordon, was friends with Brian Assa."This kid didn't have a bad bone in his body, a heart as big as they come," Gordon said.Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District spokesman Robert Zimmerman said the district would offer counseling to students and staff when school opens on Tuesday.