Saddle Brook Mourns Teen Who 'Knew How To Make Everyone Smile'

SADDLE BROOK, NJ — They walked around the track in silence, braving the rain and cold breeze that left a chill in the air. The only noises were the sobs and cries people let out. Many wore purple.

They comforted one another and they remembered Brooke Costanzo.

Hundreds of Saddle Brook High School students, staff and parents gathered there Tuesday night for a candlelight vigil in honor of the 16-year-old who was killed in a Sunday crash.

"She was the most outgoing, lovely person I've ever had the pleasure of knowing," said Anjelica Parisi, who said she knew Costanzo since they were 4 years old. "She just knew how to make everyone smile, no matter what the situation was."

Visitation with the family is Wednesday, Dec. 6, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Our Lady of Mount Virgin R.C. Church at 188 MacArthur Ave. in Garfield. A funeral mass will be at the church Thursday at 9 a.m.

Costanzo was a junior. She played lacrosse and volleyball and was a cheerleader. She also worked with the school district's before-care and after-care programs, Saddle Brook Superintendent Anthony Riscica told NJ.com.

"She was a good kid with a heart of gold," her uncle Vincent Costanzo said in the NJ.com report.

Costanzo died Sunday night when the SUV she was driving veered off a curve on Fresh Ponds Road in South Brunswick and hit a tree Sunday at 6:30 p.m., authorities said.

Dozens of people wrote words of remembrance on large pieces of posterboard with purple markers at the vigil. Several collages of photos of Costanzo hung up, candles burning underneath them.

People also donated money to Costanzo's family Tuesday night, a trend that started online on a GoFundMe page where more than $45,000 has been raised for the family.

This is not the first time her family has dealt with tragedy: Costanzo's father died in a motorcycle crash near Interstate 80 when she was just 10 years old.

Authorities are still trying to figure out why Costanzo took her mother's 2012 Honda Pilot without permission and ended up in Middlesex County. South Brunswick police said they found Costanzo's phone among the vehicle's wreckage and are combing it for clues to try and determine what she was doing in the area.

Saddle Brook police Chief Robert Kugler previously told Patch that Costanzo did not posses a valid driver's license and took the car without her mother's knowing sometime late afternoon Sunday. Her mother had called police about an hour before the crash to report her and the car missing.

"Our local community is deeply saddened by this most tragic loss," Kugler added.

Related: Saddle Brook Teen Killed In South Brunswick Crash Sunday
Related: Funeral Services Set For Brooke Costanzo

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Images from the candlelight vigil and photos that were shown there at Saddle Brook High School Tuesday night. By staff writer Daniel Hubbard