Officers who tried to save North Bergen baby's life pay respects at viewing

NORTH BERGEN -- The line keeps growing outside Vainieri Funeral Home on Kennedy Boulevard where hundreds of people who never knew 8-month-old Angelie Paredes are waiting to pay their respects to the North Bergen infant who was killed Tuesday in a freakish bus crash.

Baby Angelie lies in an open casket wearing a white cap, said family friend Joanner Romero, who arrived here at 11:15 a.m.

The room inside is filled with bouquets of flowers donated by family members and businesses.

Angelie was killed Tuesday when a bus jumped a curb on Boulevard East in West New York and knocked over a lamppost that struck the infant.

Angelie's

parents, Maylin Hago Paredes and Jairo Paredes are joined today by friends, family members, neighbors, and hundreds of strangers touched by the tragedy. There is also a strong presence here of friends of Jairo and Maylin from college. Jairo attended Emerson High School in Union City and Rutgers University. 


"The mother and father are very upset," Romero said. "They are thankful for the support of the community."

Romero said Angelie's parents are touched by the goodwill of strangers and they want to raise awareness of the dangers of texting and talking on cell phones while driving because they do not want this to happen to another family.

Authorities have said that the driver involved in this crash, Idowu Daramola, was using his cell phone when the tragedy occured.  

West New York Officer Mike Stetson, who gave CPR to the baby at the scene of the crash, along with Sgt. Jose Arroyo, and Police Officers Gabriel Icaza and Elvin Munoz are among the officers who came to today's event, Romero said.

West New York residents Ana Martenco and Alba Bennal wanted to pay their respects to the baby.

"We are neighbors," said Martenco, a member of the Avivamento Fuente De Vida congregation at 61st and Adams, holding a bible. "We decided to come and give our condolences."

The funeral is scheduled for tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the funeral home.

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