Milford, PA : West Milford mother hopes her son's death is a lesson to others on Tuesday, 9th August, 2016
All that was shattered late last month, when a summer night with friends ended in a fiery car crash on Route 23 in Butler. Police said the car, a Subaru sedan, had been in a high-speed race with another vehicle, which fled the scene. Boes, a passenger in the car driven by his college roommate, was fatally injured and died Tuesday night after being in a coma for 11 days.“I hope some lessons are learned,” his mother, Sandi, said at the family’s West Milford home Thursday as she tearfully hugged photos of her son to her chest. “I hate to say that my kid had to pay the price, but I hope somebody learns a lesson from this.”Last week, Butler police Lt. Michael Moeller indicated police were considering filing charges related to the accident but did not specify who would be charged, or what the charges would be.
“God forbid he passes away,” Moeller said of Boes. “Then there will be different charges.”
On Thursday, Morris County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Troiano said no criminal charges have been filed and the investigation was ongoing. But police have issued motor vehicle summonses related to the accident, according to court records. Runo was cited for attempting or agreeing to operate a motor vehicle in a racing event, reckless driving and making an unsafe lane change, according to court records. He and Lepore each were cited for failure to wear a seatbelt.
Boes’ parents, Sandi and Bill, said Thursday they were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from friends, family, and even complete strangers. A local deli told Bill and Sandi that their son often visited the store and once helped employees unload a delivery truck. The owner offered to supply food for the grieving family.
For nearly two weeks, the parents said, visitors flooded the hospital where their son was in a coma. “Even if they couldn’t see him, they said they just wanted to be there,” Bill Boes said. He said that the family has been inundated with gift cards and food. “We’ve actually turned people away from giving us stuff,” he said.
Sandi Boes said messages posted on Facebook about her son have been comforting. “It was overwhelming to see all of the memory pictures,” she said. “He’ll always be in everybody’s heart.”
Boes was a leader at West Milford High School, where he graduated in 2014 after being captain of both the football and baseball teams. The principal, Paul Gorski, said the school will memorialize Boes during the football and baseball seasons. “We definitely want to make that kind of recognition,” he said.
West Milford’s head football coach, Don Dougherty, said Boes visited the football and baseball teams after he graduated to help younger players in the weight room or with batting practice. Dougherty said the football team will wearing his number, 54, on their helmets and headpieces this year.
“You only coach a handful of kids like that in your coaching career,” he said. “He'd find a way to come down and see his former teammates, his coaches. It’s surreal that he's not here anymore.”
At one time, Boes considered joining the U.S. Marines but a cousin who served in that branch of the military persuaded him to pursue his education instead. A rising junior at Lycoming College in Pennsylvania, Boes studied criminal justice and accepted an internship with the U.S. Marshals Service for the fall — even though it meant giving up his spot on the football team.
A Miami Dolphins fan, he mostly rode the bench in college, but “was a team player, even when he wasn’t playing,” Bill said, adding that he and his wife attended every game he played. Boes was an avid fisherman who wanted to become a police officer like his maternal grandfather, who had served in Montvale. His parents said he was meticulous about avoiding trouble because he didn’t want to jeopardize that dream.
“He would have done good things as a cop,” Sandi said. “I tried so hard to talk him out of it. … That was what he wanted and nobody was talking him out of it.”
Boes, who would have turned 21 on Sept. 1, planned to celebrate his birthday by skydiving in Sussex County — a birthday present from his parents. He had a tattoo on his upper back of a cross with angel’s wings in memory of his uncle, Richard Boes, a veteran of the Vietnam War who died in 2009 of throat and neck cancer.
After the accident, Boes underwent seven surgeries, and his family kept a photo of him with his uncle at the hospital, hoping he would see it when he awoke. He remained in the coma until he died this week. “He couldn’t do it anymore,” said his mother. “He couldn’t fight anymore.”
Boes will wear his high school football jersey and a favorite pair of construction boots during the viewing at the Richards Funeral Home in West Milford, his parents said. Police recovered one boot after the accident, and a friend found the other boot in the roadway and returned it to the family.
“I just hugged that boot like a precious child,” Sandi said.
Visitation is scheduled for Friday from 3 to 8 p.m. at the Richards Funeral Home in West Milford and, according to Boes’ obituary, a Funeral Mass is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at St. Joseph’s Church, also in the township. The family is asking that, in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to the West Milford PBA Local 162.
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West Milford mother hopes her son's death is a lesson to others