Ostin Portillo Perdomo, teen killed in Riverhead crash, mourned by family, friends

The last time Sofia Portillo saw her son alive, he was dancing in front of a mirror preparing for an upcoming quinceañera. It was Saturday afternoon and, she said, his exuberance shone. 

The next time she saw him, she said, he was on a stretcher at Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead, a blanket draped over his body. She screamed, knowing he was gone, she recalled.

“I prayed that God save him. I don’t understand why he was taken,” she said, speaking through tears during an interview at her Riverhead home on Tuesday.

Town of Riverhead police said the 16-year-old, identified by his mother as Ostin Portillo Perdomo, died after crashing into a tree around 9:20 p.m. Saturday in front of Cornell University Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center on Sound Avenue, about three miles from his home. The teen was the only person in the car, a police spokesperson previously told Newsday.

Tire marks were visible on the lawn of the research center Tuesday afternoon, and pieces of the maroon Honda Civic he was driving were scattered on the property. The massive tree stood intact, just a layer of its bark torn off.

At the family's home, Portillo, 36, collapsed into her son’s twin bed, sinking beside a large teddy bear and several smaller stuffed animals as she spoke of her grief Tuesday.

“My chest hurts,” she said in Spanish. “I feel like I’ve gone mad and soon I will wake up from this."

Her son was her buddy, she said, and as the oldest child, he took on the responsibility of watching two of his younger siblings, ages 3 and 7, when his parents worked. He also assisted with household chores, like making sure the entire house sparkled so he could earn time to hang out with friends, she said.

The day he died, Portillo said  her son helped his stepfather lay flooring in the morning and then went out with friends. He came home in the afternoon and then left again, when a friend picked him up, she said.

His parents said they set a 9 p.m. curfew, locking the door while they ate dinner with neighbors across the street. Home surveillance video showed the teen returning to the house to discreetly pick up car keys and take off without his parents’ permission. He didn't have a driver's license yet but had been learning to drive since his birthday in August, his mother said. 

His stepfather, Marvin Perdomo, 35, recalled the first time the boy asked to call him Dad, a role he said he filled with joy. On Saturday, he said he told his stepson to “be careful, come back quickly and he said, ‘OK, Dad,’ and those were the last words he said to me. I gave him all the love of a father. Now I feel so sad because he was so good."

The teen's parents said they left El Salvador more than a decade ago in search of a better future. Portillo Perdomo followed two years later, when he was 7. They said they went through immigration court to make sure the teen had legal status so he could one day hold a job.

His mother opened his bedroom closet, pulling out the gray suit he planned to wear as part of the court of honor for the upcoming quinceañera he was prepping for. 

“We gave him everything we could. It wasn’t riches, but we did what we could to make sure he has a good life,” Perdomo said.

School community grieving

The teen's death has sent shock waves through the Riverhead school community, where Portillo Perdomo was a high school junior and his sister, Hazel, 14, is a freshman. The district said counselors were available to help students.

“We extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to Ostin’s family and friends during this difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers remain with them,” Sean O’Hara, Riverhead High School principal, said in a letter to parents. “A young person’s passing is always tragic, and a sudden loss like this can have a profound effect on the entire school community. We have implemented our crisis intervention plan and psychologists, social workers and guidance counselors have been and will continue to be available for grief counseling.”

At the crash site Tuesday, Ashly Ruiz, 18, of Riverhead, knelt and wept for her friend. She said she had spoken to him 10 minutes before the crash.

“He was the best big brother anyone could have," she said.

She added, "Nobody could have predicted what happened."

Portillo Perdomo's wake is scheduled for Friday from 3 to 8 p.m. at McLaughlin Heppner Funeral Home in Riverhead. A service will be held at 10 a.m. at the funeral home on Saturday.

Ostin Portillo Perdomo died after a crash Saturday night in Riverhead. The location was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.