A New Jersey man who was among eight people killed in a truck driver’s rampage on a New York City bike path last week was laid to rest Monday.
Bagpipe music filled the air as the casket bearing the body of Darren Drake was brought into and out of the Church of the Ascension in New Milford.
Firefighters hung a large American flag from a ladder truck and the bed of a hearse was filled with flowers, including what appeared to be an arrangement in the shape of an Irish flag.
Jimmy Drake, right, receives a hug as mourners pay their last respects after the loss of his son, Darren Drake, before the funeral mass at the Church of the Ascension in New Milford, N.J.,
Tearful mourners exit the Church of the Ascension i after paying their respects to Darren Drake during his funeral mass
Among the mourners was Diane Kaufmann, who said she did not know Drake but felt compelled to attend the service.
‘This is my parish and my town,’ Kaufmann told The Record following the service. ‘We need to let these other people, these terror suspects know they will not win, and come out in droves.’
Reporters were not allowed in the church during Monday’s Mass, but mourners described the service, officiated by The Rev. David Milliken, as ‘beautiful.’ Others called it ‘heart-breaking’ and ‘somber.’
As they filed out, many walked slowly to their cars, some looking at the pavement or dabbing the corners of their eyes with tissues.
Drake, 32, was a project manager for Moody’s Investors Service at the World Trade Center.
Drake, 32, was a project manager for Moody’s Investors Service at the World Trade Center
Authorities have said Drake recently lost 93 pounds after undergoing lap band surgery and was out for a bike ride between meetings when the truck hit and killed him on Halloween.
His parents, James and Barbara, have described their son in interviews as a gentle, at times gregarious, young man with a thirst for knowledge, motivated by a genuine love for education and self-improvement.
‘He was just a great kid, absolutely fantastic,’ one mourner said to CBS News. ‘Did everything he could for other kids, he followed in the footsteps of others and I know he loved the Lord upstairs very much.’
His best friend was his dad, James.
‘He was perhaps one of the most decent American young kids that our country has ever produced,’ his father said.
Several hundred mourners filled the New Milford church in New Jersey to say farewell to the ‘gentle giant’ who was killed while riding a CitiBike during a break from his job
Drake was on a CitiBike listening to an audio book when he was hit by 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov, who drove a rented Home Depot truck through the lower Manhattan bike lane
He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science at Rutgers University in 2007 and a master’s degree in business administration in 2011 from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
He was working toward a second master’s degree, at Stevens Institute of Technology.
Drake was civic-minded. He previously served as president of the New Milford school board and ran on a Republican slate for the city council in 2011, a race in which he was narrowly defeated.
Russell Crane, who shared a room with Drake at Rutgers, remembered his college friend Monday as a ‘big ball of fun.’
Crane, of Point Pleasant, and his wife Stephanie said the last time they saw Drake was a few weeks ago, at their wedding.
‘He had one of the brightest smiles,’ Crane said to NorthJersey.com ‘And he gave the biggest hugs.’
‘He was the most innocent, delicate kid in the world,’ said his father Jimmy Drake, seen right
Drake is being remembered as a gentle giant. He was 6’4″ tall but he had a soft touch, friends and family say
The grief-stricken community is bid a final farewell to Darren Drake who was killed in the Halloween Day terror attack in New York City
Drake was one of eight terror victims killed by Saipov’s rampage.
Five men from Argentina, who were in town to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their high school graduation, also were killed on their bikes: Hernán Mendoza, Diego Angelini, Alejandro Pagnucco, Ariel Erlij and Hernan Ferruchi.
On Monday, the president of Argentina, Mauricio Macri, placed flowers along the bike path.
‘We lament that we have to meet under these circumstances, but I am happy that this gives us the chance to reinforce the love and the work we do altogether,’ President Mauricio Macri told Argentine officials.
The other victims include Belgium mother 31-year-old mother Ann-Laure Decadt and Nicholas Cleves, 23, of Manhattan, who was also run down by Saipov.