Funeral tribute source of havoc, pride

CATSKILL — Friends paying tribute to a life cut too short, too soon, did so Wednesday in an unusual way, resulting in a mother’s pride and a couple of traffic tickets.

Brian Lane, 19, of Catskill, died Feb. 13 in a work accident. Friends and family mourned Lane at his funeral service at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Millspaugh Camerato Funeral Home. After his burial in the Town of Catskill Cemetery, his friends wanted to give him a proper send-off by doing “burn-outs” in their trucks on Route 23B in Jefferson Heights.

Lane’s mother, Jennifer Lane voiced her support for the tribute in a statement Friday.

“The loss of our son, Brian, is felt deeply not only by our family, but by those he knew,” Jennifer Lane said. “His reach and impact was far and wide. Friends gathered on Wednesday to bury a son, brother and friend. Following his burial, his friends, whom he considered brothers, paid tribute to him by lighting up the tires in the street. These young men meant no harm. They are not criminals. They are young people who loved another enough to risk arrest, ticketing and public scrutiny to offer a tribute that Brian would’ve been damn proud of. If it gave even one of them a sense of peace from the heartache of his loss, that’s good enough for me. Our family supports every single one of them.”

The activity caused safety concerns, Undersheriff Adam Brainard said Friday.

“We were concerned about uninvolved cars, pedestrians, as well as the kids themselves because there were kids hanging out windows and operating vehicles in an unsafe manner,” Brainard said. “Jefferson Heights corridor is a very busy roadway.”

The sheriff’s office received around six calls about the behavior, Brainard said.

“There were about 50 to 60 individuals involved, including adults who were videotaping it,” he said.

Traffic was backed up in both directions for about a quarter of a mile, Brainard said. Some drivers, who were not anticipating the activity, were pulling over to get out of the way.

Brainard estimated that the tribute went on for less than 15 minutes and said that the drivers quickly dispersed as police began to arrive.

Two tickets were issued for unsafe start, he said.

Of particular concern was that some individuals believed they had permission to drive in this manner, Brainard said.

“Our authorities were advised when issuing tickets for the behavior that they had been given some sort of permission for the behavior,” Brainard said. “No permission can be given to break the law.”

Catskill village police were not involved in the incident, Chief David Darling said Friday, adding that the Greene County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

“I don’t know what they did,” Darling said. “I wasn’t there. It doesn’t look like they did much to me.”

Village police did not give the young mourners permission to behave in this way, Darling said, adding his department did not have jurisdiction in that area.

“We didn’t have any cars there,” Darling said. “It’s about a mile out of our jurisdiction.”

The sheriff’s office had knowledge of the activities, Darling said.

“It’s my understanding that the sheriff’s department had prior notice,” he said.

Brainard disagreed with Darling’s account.

“A Catskill police sergeant involved with the parties spoke with a deputy doing traffic control for the wake and indicated that this behavior may happen the following day,” Brainard said. “The sergeant was advised to notify a supervisor with our agency and that didn’t happen.”

Brainard did not identify the sergeant.

The sheriff’s office was mindful about the situation at hand, Brainard said.

“We took into account the fact that emotions were high, the kids were upset,” he said. “We were hoping to just disperse them. We were very surprised to find out they believed they had been given permission.”

Despite the unfortunate circumstances, the law had to be upheld, Brainard said.

“We were considerate of the grieving process they are going through but we can’t condone breaking the law,” he said.

Lane had a love for life, according to his obituary.

“Brian had an enthusiasm for life that touched everyone he met,” according to his obituary. “He had a love for farming, working the land and building and crafting by hand. He was an avid hunter and fisherman and had a love of nature. He shared his love of music with all he knew, especially his mother. He loved a hot summer day with an ice cold beer.”