How can a community recover from such a devastating tragedy? How does one keep going?
On Shabbos afternoon, Sarah (Natasha) Saada, 35, and her two daughters, Dinah Brachah (Diana) and Devorah Mazal (Debra), ages seven and five, were walking on Ocean Parkway, on their way to visit a cousin. Pinchas Refoel (Phillip), aged four, was with them as well.
“She raised her children with chochmah to be mekadesh Sheim Shamayim,” said Rabbi Yosef Ozeri, rav of the family’s shul, at the levayah. “She was mekadesh Sheim Shamayim with her death.”
Without warning, a vehicle driven by a 32-year-old woman at high speed plowed into another, flipped in the air, and struck the group of four. Sarah and her two daughters were instantly taken to Shamayim on angels’ wings, and Pinchas Refoel was rushed to Coney Island Hospital in critical condition, where doctors quickly performed surgery to save his life.
A neighbor was forced to knock on Sidney Saada’s door to deliver the terrible news. Another had to tell parents and grandparents Jack and Shahin Assil.
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