EAST BRUNSWICK – The community will gather to honor the life of a teenager who tragically lost his life at the municipal pond this week.
The wake for Yousef Khela – son of Eshan Khela and Magda Gerges, and brother of Sara and Sandy Khela – is planned for 7-9 p.m. tonight, Jan. 23, at St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church, 433 Riva Ave., East Brunswick. Funeral services will be announced for the same location. The family requests that attire be all white.
The community will then gather for a vigil at 5 p.m. on Jan. 26 at the municipal pond, Civic Center Drive, East Brunswick.
Patrol units responded to the pond for a report of juveniles who fell through the ice around 4:55 p.m. on Jan. 22.
Two male juveniles had self-rescued themselves off of the ice, but one juvenile remained in the water, according to information provided by the East Brunswick Police Department.
Arriving officers immediately formed a chain and entered the pond in an effort to rescue the victim, but he slipped under the ice before they could reach him, according to reports.
All East Brunswick Fire Districts were dispatched and were able recover Yousef from the pond. Paramedics and emergency medical personnel transported him to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick in critical condition.
As of 7:45 p.m. on Jan. 22, he was pronounced deceased at the hospital.
During the rescue efforts, six officers and two firefighters were treated for hypothermia. Two of those officers and one of the firefighters were transported to the hospital. One other officer responding to the incident was involved in a motor vehicle accident and transported to the hospital, according to reports.