A Community Goodbye

Nearly 1,000 mourners crowded into Montauk's St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Church school building Tuesday morning to pay tribute to Carlos A. Hernandez, 17, who was killed late Friday night in an auto accident on Montauk Highway in Amagansett.

Many were students, teachers, and counselors from East Hampton High School, where Carlos, a senior, was a member of the band and the soccer and tennis teams. Among the nine who offered eulogies before the funeral mass was Christopher Tracey, East Hampton's athletic director, who called Carlos "a great kid who left a significant mark on those who had the privilege to know him."

His parents, Mr. Tracey said, "raised a winner."

Emigrated From Chile

An only child, Carlos had lived in Montauk since arriving in the United States at the age of 9 with his parents, Ana and Luis, from Vina del Mar in Chile, where he was born on May 31, 1980.

A hushed sadness filled St. Therese as Sister Cathi Kugler, a nun from the Southampton Spanish Apostolate, translated some of Msgr. John Nosser's words at the beginning of Tuesday's service. Worshipers rose as pallbearers, including several classmates, teammates, and Mr. Tracey, accompanied the white-draped coffin into the room, his parents and other family members following.

"We will never forget his wonderful smile," said Inez Fox, who had been his third-grade teacher at the Montauk School.

Five School Buses

"He was a Santa Claus of smiles and laughter," said his cousin, Sandra Mena of Montauk, who called him "my protector."

Five school buses brought high school students to the funeral Tuesday, in the process passing the spot where the fatal accident occurred. Since Saturday, friends have placed bouquets, wreaths, balloons, and photographs at the base of the tree Carlos's car struck after he apparently lost control at the wheel while heading home from a friend's house in East Hampton.

The 1989 Plymouth, police said, crossed into the westbound lane and went off the road. No other cars were involved. Using the "jaws of life" and other equipment, it took emergency personnel more than half an hour to free the boy, who was unconscious.

A Medivac helicopter met the ambulance at East Hampton Airport, but it was determined that Carlos was not stable enough to be transported by air, said William Lusty Jr. of the Amagansett Fire Department, who was the first on the scene. The ambulance then took Carlos to Southampton Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, a hospital spokeswoman confirmed.

No skid marks were found on the roadway, police said, suggesting that Carlos may have fallen asleep at the wheel. He was wearing a seatbelt.

Among approximately 35 fire and emergency medical personnel on the scene was Justin Raynor, a classmate and new member of the Amagansett Fire Department.

Friend To Many

Carlos's close friends and schoolmates Kevin Reilly and Jared Steil spoke through tears on Tuesday, Kevin saying he had "lost his best friend."

"Anyone who knew him was on his team. He was docile, playful, and strikingly honest," said Ben Simpson, a friend, classmate, and tennis teammate.

Chris Zay, who played with Carlos on the high school soccer team, said his friend "frustrated us with his ball-handling skills, and then would make us smile." The team, he added, "loved and respected him."

James Stewart, a high school teacher who coached the soccer team, said Carlos's "love of the game and the team were infectious, and his smile legendary."

Community Support

Monsignor Nosser noted the participation and support of "so many" in the community, "especially the students whose tears and feelings, especially of love, are more eloquent even than their words."

When word of the popular student-athlete's death spread Saturday, donations to cover funeral expenses and help for the grieving began to pour in.

The high school opened its doors to students, at least 100 of whom gathered in the auditorium to talk about their friend and comfort one another. Edna Steck, the East Hampton Town director of human services, arranged for two additional counselors to be on hand.

Kevin Graham, a school psychologist, and Sharon Bacon, the East Hampton School Board president, were also among those who turned out Saturday. Each had lost a child who had attended East Hampton High School.

In Two Languages

"He was a lovely boy, and there were a lot of tears," said Theresa Trouv‚, the principal, who with several counselors and teachers stayed at the school through Sunday.

Family members, friends, students, and school administrators attended a Spanish-language mass at St. Therese Saturday evening, where the Rev. Fransicso Dionisio from the Spanish Apostolate in Southampton spoke first in Spanish and then in English.

"We want everyone to know how important he was to us," said Dr. Trouv‚.

Besides participating in sports, Carlos held full-time summer jobs at John's Pancake House and the Montauk Bake Shoppe, where he worked part-time during the school year. He also volunteered at the Montauk Youth Center.

Half-Mast

"He had a huge heart," said Haley Ryan, a friend. "He wanted to go to college so he could make a good living and send money back to relatives still in Chile."

Flags were flown at half-mast at the high school and the Montauk School, which Carlos attended from the third through eighth grades.

Long lines of friends paid condolences to Carlos's family on Monday at the Williams Funeral Home in East Hampton. Carlos had played first trumpet in the high school band, and on Monday morning, in high school music class, friends placed his instrument on the chair he had used.

Fifteen students from that class played two selections Tuesday as pallbearers accompanied the coffin back out of the church for burial at Fort Hill Cemetery. There, Keith Fenoy, a son of Edward Barry, Carlos's high school social studies teacher, played "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes.

Afterward, more than 500 mourners gathered at a reception at the Montauk Firehouse.

Smile Remembered

Carlos's mother said she wanted her son to be remembered for his smile. Her wishes were reflected in a meditation offered by Mrs. Fox, who spoke in Spanish and English, at the funeral. It read in part:

"Death is nothing at all. I have only slipped away into the next room. I am I, and you are you, whatever we were to each other we still are . . . wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes together. . . ."

In addition to his parents, Carlos is survived by an aunt and uncle, Lorraine and Carlos Mena, and three cousins, Sandra Mena, 15, Andrea Mena, 13, and his goddaughter, Alexandra Mena, 21/2, all of Montauk. Other cousins in Montauk who survive are Domingo and Marcela Schiappacasse, Mauricio and Macareno Ramos, and Yanni Bascunan.

Also officiating at the funeral were the Revs. Dionisio and Gregory Semeniuk, also from the Spanish Apostolate.

Memorial donations can be sent to the Carlos Hernandez Memorial Fund, Bridgehampton National Bank, the Plaza, Montauk 11954.