Photo Credit: www.oldwestburypanthers.org
SUNY Old Westbury mourns the loss of first-year student, Tania Bonilla who died in a motor vehicle accident on Saturday, July 18th. Bonilla was driving on the eastbound on the Southern State Parkway heading towards Sagtikos State Parkway before 3 am when she left the roadway and struck a guardrail on the driver’s side of the car. She was taken to Southside Hospital where she died of her injuries. Four other passengers were transported to Good Samaritan Hospital where they are treated for their non-life-threatening injuries.
The Brentwood native was a criminology major and a member of the Women’s Soccer Team. “We mourn today the life of a student who passed too soon, but let us also remember fondly Tania Bonilla and offer our hopes for strength and peace to her loved ones and teammates in this difficult time,” President Calvin O. Butts III wrote in an email sent out to the SUNY OW community.
Women’s Soccer Team’s Head Coach, Bettyann Bohringer described her as someone who is an“intelligent woman that she would have become as a graduate of our school and soccer program, and leader of our team as she would be passing the torch from senior to freshman in the next soccer generation.” Bonilla’s last soccer game was during the Skyline Conference Championships where her team concluded the 11-9-0 record after advancing to the postseason for the first time since 2015. “There will be a lot of tears. We are going to miss her so much! I really hope that there is a soccer team in heaven that she is playing for because that is the only reason I can think of and rationalize with why she is still not with us,” said Coach Bohringer. Coach Bohringer is planning for the soccer team to pay a tribute to Bonilla when resuming the soccer season this upcoming fall.
Any students or faculty seeking support following the loss of Ms. Bonilla can reach out to the Office of Counseling and Wellness Services at counselingcenter@oldwestbury.edu or call at 516-876-3053.
