While most honorees at the 6th Annual Jewish Sports Heritage Association induction ceremony April 7 took to the stage and read speeches of thanks, honorees Ethan Falkowitz and Drew Hassenbein, who were killed in a car crash last May, did not get that chance.
Roslyn middle-schoolers Ethan and Drew were fatally struck by an alleged drunk driver in Jericho on their way home from a dinner celebrating their tennis victory earlier that day on May 3, 2023. Both boys were just 14.
The two were honored posthumously as tennis players of the year at the ceremony and remembered for their athletic talents and kindness.
“They were taken from us way too young,” Alan Freedman, director of the association, said. “I thought in a few years Ethan and Drew should be getting this award when they’re high school seniors.”
Amandeep Sing, 34, was accused by the Nassau District Attorney’s Office of driving on the wrong side of the road May 3 at 95 mph with a blood alcohol count of 0.15 and cocaine in his system, based on records obtained by Newsday.
Sing was charged with multiple offenses, including aggravated vehicular homicide, first-degree vehicular manslaughter, second-degree manslaughter, leaving the scene of an auto accident with a fatality, driving while intoxicated and two counts of second-degree assault.
Sing rejected a plea deal in November and pleaded not guilty. He was last in court Feb. 20.
Roslyn High School students Zach Sheena and Ethan Solop, riding in the car with the two middle-schoolers, were hospitalized with internal injuries but were in stable condition following the accident.
Both Ethan and Drew played on the school tennis team. Drew was at one point the No. 1-ranked tennis player in the nation for the Boys 12 and Under division. As a middle schooler, he was already being scouted by nationally acclaimed college tennis programs, according to reports.
“They weren’t just great tennis players, which they were,” Freedman said. “They were truly outstanding young men who were taken from us way too early. There’s just so much that I’m sure they would have accomplished in their lives.”
Freedman said the association would like to create an annual award in Ethan’s and Drew’s honor to be granted to the top male and female U.S. tennis player.
