Riverhead family seeks help with funeral expenses of motorcyclist killed in Tuesday crash

A Riverhead family is appealing to the solidarity of the local community to raise the funds needed to cover funeral expenses and the repatriation of Ismael Besantez Ramon, the 22-year-old who died Tuesday morning in a crash on County Road 105.

According to his brother Dennis, Ismael was on his way to work Tuesday, riding a 2022 CF Moto, when at 7:57 a.m., traveling northbound on Cross River Drive, he collided with a pickup truck that was making a left turn onto Cross River Drive from Union Avenue. Dennis, his younger brother and housemate, says he learned of the news around noon when another roommate called to say that two detectives had arrived at their home. Dennis and Ismael shared their real-time locations, so he checked his phone and saw his brother was at the Riverhead Town Police headquarters and Justice Court on Howell Avenue.

“I still have his location. I saw him at Riverhead Town Court and hoped maybe he had gotten into some kind of trouble and that’s why they were calling me,” Dennis said. “I called his girlfriend to see if she was closer, but we were both in Southampton and arrived almost at the same time,” he said. “Two detectives came out and took us into a room. I was hoping to see my brother sitting there, until like a bucket of cold water, the detective told me, ‘your brother has died.’”

Since that moment, the Ecuadorian family, gripped by grief, has been living through  the ordeal of paperwork, legal procedures, identifying the body, and even speaking with people who witnessed the crash and were present in Ismael’s final moments, including a passerby who stayed with him until his last breath and later shared those details with the family.

“I held his hand and told him in Spanish, ‘Everything is okay.’ It was very quick; he wasn’t in pain and he was at peace,” Rachel Bristel Stephens, who witnessed the incident and tried to help Ismael, told Tu Prensa Local.

According to the police report, Besantez was transported by Riverhead ambulance to Peconic Bay Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead. Dennis said that amid the immense pain of losing his brother and best friend, he had to find the strength to dry his tears and break the news to their parents.

“My father has no siblings; for him, we are everything. My brother and he were very much alike and had a very close relationship,” Dennis said. “He just broke down at the station, and I tried to take him outside to calm him.”

Ismael was just beginning his life and, like any 22-year-old, had many dreams. He arrived in the United States during the pandemic and had been determined to build a better future here for himself and his family.

“My brother was like a father and a brother to me. We were both raised by our grandmother because our parents came to this country so we could have a better life,” Dennis said. “My first memories of everything are with him: he taught me how to cook, how to ride a bike, even how to ride his motorcycle—though I was afraid,” Dennis said, visibly affected by the loss.

Since Tuesday, the family has been trying to process the news while preparing a proper farewell for this enthusiastic and courageous young man, who, according to those close to him, lived life intensely.

“To me he was an inspiration. He was always brave and daring, very social—wherever he went he made friends,” his brother said. “I don’t know how, but he always had something to talk about.”

Although he worked for many years as a cook, after a complicated appendectomy that left him hospitalized for two months, Ismael changed career paths and turned to carpentry. Just two weeks ago, he had received his official Hampton Carpentry Services shirts and was excited to have a stable job.

“He was so happy because he had gotten a steady job,” his brother said. “He would talk and talk—sometimes I think it stressed me out—but now I would give anything to hear him forever,” Dennis added.

His loved ones want to honor Ismael’s final wish: to be buried in his hometown of Cuenca, where his body can rest near his grandmother, the woman who raised him and is waiting to say a final goodbye. However, the family was not prepared to cover funeral costs in the United States, much less the international repatriation of his body. For that reason, friends and relatives have launched a GoFundMe fundraising campaign so that anyone moved by their situation can offer support.

“Unfortunately, funeral expenses and international transport are very high, and that is why we turn to your solidarity. Any contribution, no matter how small, will be of great help during this very difficult time,” the campaign states. “If you cannot donate, we ask that you help by sharing this message.”

Those who knew him agree that he was a loving and responsible young man who never caused problems for his parents, his brother said. He was a source of pride for his family, and they hope to give him a farewell “on a grand scale.”

Editor’s note: Visitation will take place on Sunday, May 3, from 3 to 7 p.m. at Robertaccio Funeral Home, 495 Main Street, Center Moriches 11934

This story was originally published in TuPrensaLocal.com on April 29, 2026 and is reprinted here by permission. Tu Prensa Local story.