Family Remembers, Honors ‘Firecracker’ Daughter, Sister, Friend

LEVITTOWN, NY — A family lost a piece of their heart in January – the Parke Family reflects on the memory of their beloved daughter, sister, taken too soon. They spoke about the beauty of Lindsey Rose Parke from inside and out – her generous heart, firecracker spirit, and kind soul.

The way Lindsey cherished her family, friends, and community will transcend generations, living in each person she touched.

Her parents said they see their little girl in the grocery store, in Wawas, in Dunkins, in each room of the house. Her mother’s voice cracked with emotion: “Everywhere.”

Lindsey Rose Parke and Alexa Duryea, both 19 years old and from Levittown, were killed after a car crash in Hicksville on the night of Jan. 23, Nassau County police said.

According to officers, a 23-year-old man lost control of his vehicle, crossed over into oncoming traffic, and struck a tree — and then a building. Lindsey and Alexa were passengers in the car, police said. The man, who pleaded not guilty on Jan. 30, was driving at more than twice the posted 40 mph speed limit with 100 percent full acceleration and no braking, the Nassau County DA’s office said.

Lindsey’s family – father Edward, mother Annette, sister Haley, and brother Timothy – shares in mourning with the Duryea family and the Levittown community.

Haley said Lindsey and Alexa were great friends. Sisters Lindsey and Haley were only 13 months apart and shared a core friend group. Both Lindsey and Alexa kept their family and friends close.

Haley said they would all hang out at the Parke family house, or go to the Bellmore car show, play pool on Fridays, get food together, sit in the car and listen to music in the driveway, hang out in the living room playing Uno, or spend time in a camper down at the beach.

Alexa was a family-oriented girl — she spent time with her mom, dad, and sisters, Annette said.

“Lindsey and Alexa always had each other’s backs,” Annette said. “They were truly best friends. Two very sweet, kind girls.”

Their bond was strong, and the three girls would all make their way to Annette’s bedroom to chat.

“It was girl time,” she said. “They would pile in and plop themselves on the foot of my bed and just talk to me."

Lindsey’s parents said they never had to give Lindsey and Alexa a curfew. They kept in touch with their families and shared the same morals.

“They both had anxiety,” Edward said. “They helped each other through life. They were inseparable.”

Ever since she was a child, Lindsey wanted to help people. Lindsey and Alexa met in the BOCES program together — Lindsey on the EMT and nursing track, and Alexa studying forensic science. The girls were at a NASCAR race together with Lindsey’s father, as it was a Parke family tradition, when they jumped into action. Someone had passed out in the stands from heat exhaustion. The girls weren’t even EMTs yet.

“They didn’t hesitate to jump in and help that man,” Annette said. “Lindsey was a strong girl. Lindsey was the first one running out the door.”

Lindsey lived a life dedicated to giving back: She worked at Camp Malibu in the nurse’s office, at a YMCA program for the Massapequa School District, as a volunteer at Levittown Fire Department, a NYS-certified EMT, and most recently, at the Hyperbaric Chamber in Plainview Hospital. She had only one day of training before the nurses’ strike put her position on hold.

“She was so excited about it,” Annette said. “But she never made it back.”

Lindsey loved the bright hues of sunrise, waking up early in the morning to run to see it. She was the one to bring their family together, to make sure everyone was included, and to set up all decorations for birthdays and holidays. Lindsey was the holiday magic.

“She became the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy, the Elf on the Shelf for my nephew,” Annette said, adding that Lindsey would make cookies in the middle of the night for her family. “You'd wake up in the morning, and there'd be balloons and decorations. She would say, ‘Let’s decorate pumpkins, let’s do a painting night.’”

The saying “Let’s do it” belonged to Lindsey.

“She was always having fun,” Annette said. “Singing, dancing, movie night. ‘Let’s do it. Let’s decorate. Let’s celebrate.’ She's definitely the glue. Lindsey Rose was a firecracker. She's the fun. She was an energetic child.”

If her family listed all the acts of kindness Lindsey provided in her lifetime, at only 19 years old, the pages would run endlessly long, the pen never drying — that’s how generous her heart was.

“If you were homeless or down on your luck, she would give you food. If someone was an underdog and somebody was picking on you, Lindsey would step right in. She would carry the groceries in from the car. If you got hurt, the first thing you do is call Lindsey.”

Before she joined the Levittown Fire Department at 18 years old, Lindsey was in the junior fire department at 15 years old. She was active – jet skiing, snowmobiling, zip lining, boating, electric skateboarding, ATV riding — she wouldn’t let anything stop her.

“Don’t tell her she can’t do something,” her mother said. “She would find a way to do it. I’m most proud of who she was.”

Haley agreed, adding it was the standard Lindsey held herself to: “her morals.”

The two were sisters through and through, from getting their nails done together to hanging out in their rooms, chatting the night away.

“We don’t do anything without each other,” Haley said. “I genuinely feel like she is my other half. She always understood what I meant. She just read my brain and vice versa. She always had my back. If I didn’t have anyone to do something with, she would always be there. She was the only person in the world who understood me.”

As sisters, Haley said there were too many memories to share, but one stood out, dear to her heart.

“Our tradition was that every year when our family goes to Disney, we would put aside one night called ‘date night’ in Disney Springs,” she said. “No one else is allowed to go. We would just spend the day together. We would have a girls' day.”

Lindsey’s kindness and love flowed through the family to the youngest. Lindsey was loved dearly by so many, including her 8-year-old cousin.

Her mother said the two of them were glued together. He would sleep over every weekend to spend time with Lindsey, and he even attended the camp she worked at so he could see her every day in the summer. They would go to Dunkin’ every day, arts and crafts, dollar store, anything just to be together.

“He lost his big sister, best friend,” Annette said.

Even with her adventurous, active spirit, Lindsey was still “glitz and glam,” her sister said with a laugh.

“Everything is rhinestone bedazzled, glitter, sparkly,” Annette said. “She put rhinestones on her NASCAR jackets, T-shirts, and football jerseys. She is the one who organizes the fancy dress night on vacation. She went into her fires, but the next thing you know, she’s dressed up in her little sparkles. That was Lindsey. She was a girl doing it. She was determined. ‘I’m going to do it’ and ‘I’m going to do it well.’ She was going to take it far.”

Baking and cooking were among Lindsey’s many talents. Her specialty was cupcakes, specifically the buttercream icing, which she made from scratch. She would bake upwards of 100 at a time, and bring them to neighbors, teachers, principals, or donate them to MOMMAs House, which is a housing program for young mothers. Each cupcake would be decorated with her own flair; she poured love into each one.

“My kitchen would be covered in cupcakes and boxes,” Annette said, adding that Lindsey would make a mess in the kitchen with delicious baked goods and dirty mixing bowls. “I'd do anything to have that back.”

If something had to be built, Lindsey was on it. She made the LEGO Titanic, and it only took her a couple of days — it sits on display. On one occasion, Annette picked up Haley from work, and Lindsey’s personality shone bright that day.

“She put on a T-rex blow up costume with sparkly boots,” Annette said, adding that Lindsey always aimed to put a smile on someone’s face. “She got out of my car and waddled into Haley's work.”

Her mother said Lindsey was a mature girl, but she was still a little kid at heart.

“Always giggling and laughing,” she said. “‘Ma! Look, Ma! I can still do a cartwheel!’ I miss her giggling and laughing. Lindsey had the cutest laugh. Her just sitting in my room telling me about her day and bugging me to do her hair, even if it was at 2 a.m. or 2 in the afternoon.”

On the night of the tragic crash, Lindsey, Alexa, Haley, and a few others had hung out at Round 1 as they did every Friday night. They had invited a newcomer, and Lindsey and Alexa rode in his car on the way home. Haley and another friend rode in Haley’s boyfriend’s car. They were all headed back to the Parke family’s home in Levittown, just a few blocks of a drive.

“We were only apart for five minutes,” Haley said. “She wanted me to go in her car, but I said I’ll go in my boyfriend’s car. We were actively texting when it happened.”

Haley thought they would see each other just a few minutes after leaving Round 1, safe at home.

“I said, ‘Drive carefully. I love you,'” Haley said. “She was responding; I saw the bubble, and then it stopped at 11:30. There was something in my stomach that felt like something was wrong. She was only five minutes behind me. I checked her location, and it said Old Country Road, but it wasn’t moving. I called her, and I started to panic, which I don’t usually do. No response. I called Alexa. No response. I called Frank. No response.”

Even though it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for Lindsey to stop and help someone on the road, Haley said she had a gut feeling that something tragic had occurred.

“I just knew it,” Haley said. “I felt like a piece of me left when she did. We grew up together.”

Earlier that tragic day, Edward said he was upstate with Lindsey to get plows for their ATVs. She was always the one to help her father. They were going to clean up the snow.

“We were waiting for them to come home, and she never got home,” he said, reliving the horrifying night. “We all jumped in our cars to run there in the hope that she was just stopping there as a firefighter to assist, but that wasn’t the case.”

Edward said he wants people to remember Lindsey: “I want everyone to know.”

He continued, sharing how proud he is of his daughter and the woman she is growing up to be, recounting all of her accomplishments. He shared a few of their fond memories.

“Lindsey loved to bake and would stay up late. She and I would go get coffee and donuts,” he said.

The family enjoyed NASCAR, especially Lindsey and her father. Every Sunday, the Parke family would either attend a NASCAR race or cook and gather around the TV to watch NASCAR, cheering on each other’s cars.

“We were supposed to do the Daytona 500,” he said, adding they are part of a group called the Turn To Bandits. They paid tribute to honor Lindsey in a meaningful way. “We decided to sponsor a race car and put Lindsey’s fire patch on the car, driven by Glen Reen.”

Through the grief, the Parke family shared some of the most beautiful sentiments about their firecracker family member.

“She was my best friend,” her father said. “She was my baby, but she was my best friend.”