TEARS FOR MA
Brooklyn mother killed by SUV laid to rest
A 6-year-old Brooklyn boy who survived a freakish accident that killed his mom was still struggling with the loss Saturday as the family attended her funeral.
Little Jayvon Williams “was not doing well,” said his grandmother Claudette Edwards, who shoved the boy to safety during the June 13 tragedy.
“He’s not eating, he’s crying himself to sleep. He keeps asking ‘When is Mommy coming home?’ He cannot keep still.”
The family gathered at the Purpose Life Church in Flatlands to remember Shaena Sinclair, 33. She was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and came to the U.S. with her mother Claudette and other family members at the age of four.
Her brother Floyd Calder, 39, performed “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” by Boyz II Men at the funeral service.
“I always used to sing to my sister,” he recalled. “She would always say ‘Brother, please sing to me.’ ”
Calder moved closer to his family from further out in Brooklyn about three weeks ago, only days before Sinclair was killed — and marveled at the timing.
“Now I’m responsible for my little nephew and my mom,” he said.
Claudette and her daughter were waiting with Jayvon for a bus in Canarsie when an SUV slammed into a sedan, sending the car careening onto the sidewalk where the three relatives were standing.
Edwards shoved the little boy to safety, with Sinclair fatally injured by the chain reaction wreck. Jayvon suffered minor injuries from flying pieces of the car, according to family members. Though discharged for treatment of a head injury, he remained emotionally rattled, said 63-yearold Claudette Edwards.
Earlier on the day of her death, Sinclair was celebrating her promotion to supervisor at Childrens Community Services, a nonprofit that provides shelter and services to homeless families.
Family lawyer Sanford Rubenstein said he received word that the SUV driver was ticketed for failure to yield while the driver of the sedan that killed Sinclair was ticketed for speeding. Initial information indicated neither driver was charged with any wrongdoing.
“We don’t know if there is a criminal investigation,” he said. “We want a meeting with the DA’s office.”
Calder, along with the rest of his family, wants to see a safety study of the street where his sister died. The heartbroken relatives offered fond recollections of their lost daughter, sister and mom inside the church were Shaena was a parishioner since childhood.
“Shaena will always remain a star in our eyes,” read a funeral program remembrance. “Her love and presence could be felt everywhere and in everything she did, whether it’s through a hug, a smile or even a good laugh.”