'From The Second We Met, I Felt So Safe Around Him:' Love Letter, Tribute To Son, Boyfriend Killed In Crash

EAST MEADOW, NY — The East Meadow community's hearts have been shattered after the passing of 21-year-old Antonio Bosotina, the young man who police said was killed after a Hicksville Middle School bus hit his motorcycle while on his morning commute.

A GoFundMe has been launched to support Antonio's mother, Nancy, and has raised more than $7K from more than 100 donors.

His mother was the first person he went to when he needed advice the most. Nancy Bosotina shared the following words in loving remembrance of her son:

"Antonio and his mom had a very special bond. A bond like no other. Antonio would come to his mother’s room every day and talk with her about everything. Before leaving her room, he would always kiss her head and thank her for listening and being there for him.

He had an infectious smile and always wanted to make people smile. He had a heart of gold, was always willing to help, and he was respectful and polite. He protected her and always wanted to make her proud. He was focused on doing good things and being a good, supportive man. She could not have asked for a better son ❤️."

Bosotina's long-term girlfriend, Hicksville-raised Maxine Sanguinetti, 23, said she lost her other half.

"From the second we met, I felt so safe around him," she said. "From that day, we were together every single day."

Their story began in October 2023 when they matched on Tinder — Sanguinetti’s cousin had created her account. "His eyes drew me in," she said. Their third anniversary would have been the week after he passed in January, a milestone they never got to celebrate together.

After they matched, he reached out every day with thoughtful messages and kind compliments, asking when he might take her out. His steady devotion eventually won her over, and Sanguinetti agreed to her very first blind date.

It was Christmas night, and they both already had their celebrations with family and loved ones, so she thought, 'Why not?' and gave him a chance – not knowing it would be the best decision of her life.

"We just went on a drive," she said. "He was in trade school, so he passed by it to show me. We talked the whole time."

After their first day, they were inseparable. Her family quickly saw what she had from the moment she met him.

"Once they officially met him, they fell in love with him," she said. "All of my family loved him. It was hard not to. He was charming and down-to-earth. He was the type of boyfriend who would open your car door, get you flowers every two weeks, and be respectful to everyone."

The couple lived together with Antonio's mother in East Meadow, and Sanguinetti said they are very close: "It's just us two now."

She said their families were very close, and she would often go shopping with his mother.

Bosotina left a lasting mark on his loved ones, his community, and even people who knew him only briefly. Sanguinetti said his vigil was a beautiful tribute, drawing 60 to 70 people who gathered despite the rain and mist. After she shared word of the vigil in biker groups, riders he had never met arrived to pay their respects. She said he only began riding recently, about a year ago, and always wanted to connect with bikers and have a group to call his own.

"If he could see it from Heaven, he would be super happy," she said.

Friends from his trade school came to support him, even those who hadn't spoken to him in some time.

Bosotina worked as a diesel mechanic and was proud to be part of a small team involved in a city project to transition sanitation trucks. "He loved working with his hands," Sanguinetti said, adding that he was passionate about cars, tools, and fishing. He had a 10,000-piece Lego set of the Titanic that he built before he was even a teenager, to prove it.

"It was always nice to see him being passionate about cars," Sanguinetti said. "He worked on all cars. His own. My brakes. He was a good man, down to his core."

He was close to all of his family – his mother, grandparents, uncle, and cousin – but he had a special bond with his grandfather. He was a mechanic for a bit of time, and "from a young age, he was really close with his grandfather."

He worked on a boat out of Lido Beach as a teenager and enjoyed leisurely fishing, though Sanguinetti said he usually went with his uncle.

"That was something they really bonded over," she said. "And the last time he was fishing was actually on his uncle's birthday. They went together."

At the time of his passing, Sanguinetti said he had recently sold his car as rates were too high – he bought his motorcycle and rode it as his daily commute. She said the two of them took their motorcycle tests together, but as soon as they both had a bike, she became "scared of the road."

"I got my bike first, and so we would take turns riding it and practicing," she said. "I'd follow in the car and vice versa. I liked the idea of riding. He was a lot braver than me."

One of her favorite memories was a simple one, bred in the beauty of the mundane. He collected scrap metal for a while, and they would drive around picking up metal on garbage days, and then drop it off at the scrap yard.

"At the time, it was freezing cold," she said. "I didn't want to be out at night doing this, but it's something that I'm looking back on. I really wish we could do that again."

Reflecting on their many car rides, she said they hardly listened to music.

"We were always just talking," she said. "We always had something to talk about. The conversation never ran out."

On her favorite memory with her partner, she said it was their 2-week trip to Spain. It was the first time he had traveled since he was about 12 to 13 years old.

"He was so happy to be there, to be in the ocean, and have all the great seafood," she said. "I saw a side of him I never had before."

Sanguinetti said Bosotina’s happiest memories were simple and meaningful:

"Spain, building LEGOs with his grandpa, fishing with his uncle, and Christmas' with his mom and mom's side of the family."

In a love letter, Sanguinetti poured her feelings for him, sharing the heartfelt declaration of how much he meant to her:

"Antonio,

You were my best friend and my safe place. Losing you has left a space that words can barely touch, but loving you has been the greatest gift of my life. You made my world feel quieter and safer. Through loving words, constant affection, and the way you held me close, you made me feel protected and cherished. We met online, and you were my first ever blind date, and somehow, from the very start, you felt familiar.

'My love' and 'sweetheart,' you’d call me… and with you, 'home' wasn’t a place—it was a feeling. Being with you felt like home, not because life was perfect, but because I knew I was facing it with you, doing everything you could to help push me forward. You were the type of boyfriend that would hold all of my doors open, even three years in. You were charming in a way that disarmed me completely. I had always kept my walls up, but you didn’t push them down—you made me want to lower them.

From the moment we met, my life changed, and within the first week, I knew I loved you. We had an undeniable spark that made our relationship unlike anything I have ever known. Your humor—cheesy, inappropriate, and perfectly you—still echoes in my mind. You showed love through action—through long days of work, through protection, through laughter, being a shoulder to cry on and a listening ear, through simply being there.

You carried so much responsibility so young. You were proud of the man you were becoming, and I was proud just to stand beside you. You were down-to-earth, kind to everyone, and respected by all who knew you. People didn’t just like you—they trusted you. They felt safe with you. You loved your family deeply, and you loved me with that same devotion.

My mood, my energy, my heart, all softened around you. I saw your heart in everything you did. Mourning you and the future we were planning together has been the hardest thing I’ve had to face. You taught me what real love looks like—steady, loyal, and full of purpose.

I will carry you with me in everything I do: in quiet moments, in laughter, in strength, in love. You will always be my person. Forever my love. To know Antonio was to be changed by him. Though his life was far too short, his love was complete, and his impact will live on in every heart he touched—especially mine.

If love could’ve saved you, you’d be here for all eternity.

Love always,
Your forever girlfriend, Maxine"