Oxford Teen Dead After Fiery Crash

Brandon Giordano will be laid to rest on Friday.

High School students are remembering one of their classmates who was killed in car crash late Friday night.

Brandon Giordano was just 15 years-old and a sophomore at Oxford High School. 

He died when the car he was riding in slammed into a building on Old State Road in Oxford just before midnight.

As of Monday morning, students had left hundreds of handwritten messages inside the school.

"It's really hard to see him go because he was so loved by everyone, said Josh Kupec, a classmate of Giordano.  "Even if you didn't know him too well, he still impacted you somehow."

The school held an assembly Monday to talk to students about Giordano's death.

""He's the type of kid we are really going to miss," Principal Frank Savo said. "It's always hard to talk about something like this. This isn't a natural thing when you lose someone so young and so unexpected. You really don't know what to say."

According to state police, Seymour police tried to stop the car on Route 67, but the driver, Eric Ramirez, 19, sped off, turn onto Old State Road, and eventually lost control and hit an embankment.

The vehicle flew an estimated 100 feet through the air and hit the building about 15-feet off the ground, police said.

Officials said Giordano, of Oxford, was riding in the back seat and died in the crash.

Ramirez, was listed in serious condition at Yale-New Haven hospital Monday.

Another teen, Dion Major, was riding in the front passenger seat and was taken to Waterbury Hospital for a head injury.

Brandon's classmates came together on Saturday night to remember him. Flowers and balloons were left at the crash site in his honor.

"He was a great kid. He made a lot of people laugh and it's just like, why him?," Gregory Spear said.

Grief counselors were available for students at the high school on Saturday and will also be there this week.

Police said the cause of the crash is under investigation.

A fund has been set up for Giordano's family to help with funeral expenses. 

Donations can be made at Oxford Town Hall.  See Anna Rycenga, the zoning enforcement official, or go to the Selectman's Office during business hours.

Funeral services will be held Friday, March 16, at 11 a.m. at Christ Church Quaker Farms, 470 Quaker Farms Road, Oxford. Bur¬ial will be in Brookside Cemetery in Oxford. Calling hours will be held Thursday, March 15, from 1 to 3 and 5 to 9 p.m. at the South¬bury Funeral Home of Munson¬Lovetere, 235 Main St. North.

Contact Us