By Luis Perez and Brandon Bain
Newsday (New York)
Copyright 2006 Newsday, Inc.
As an altar boy, Michael Kandathil gave much of his young life to his local church. Yesterday, when the 12-year-old boy was gone, it dedicated a portion of Sunday Mass to him.
Just a block away from St. Bartholomew’s Roman Catholic Church in Elmhurst, Michael was crossing south about 3 p.m. Saturday, in front of his Hampton Street home, when he was struck and killed by a city fire department truck racing west to nearby Jackson Heights, fire officials said.
Michael, who police and fire officials say apparently ran out in front of the truck, was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead.
“I keep seeing visions of him around here,” said Dennis Mantilla, the sacristan at St. Bartholomew’s. “Sometimes I feel I can hear him.”
The firetruck, of nearby Engine 289, had its lights and siren blaring, police officials said, explaining that it was apparently a tragic accident. Still, police were continuing to investigate yesterday.
At Michael’s home yesterday, several members of his family said they were too distraught to speak. His school friends and their parents streamed in and out of the house, and their words painted a portrait of a sweet-natured boy just beginning his life.
Michael served as an altar boy for four years at St. Bartholomew’s, Mantilla said. He also volunteered for St. Bartholomew’s school, friends said.
Michael, who’s from a family of immigrants from Kerala, India, made friends from all over the world in the diverse neighborhood, friends said.
“He’s the type of kid you couldn’t complain about. He really works hard for the school. He was very respectful,” said one mother, Marg, who declined to give her last name.
She said her son, Christopher, 13, was Michael’s best friend.
“He was like extended family. I don’t know how the mother is going to put up with his loss,” she said. “It’s a really big, big loss and a tragic accident.”