Mourners remember boy with ‘star quality’

Hundreds of mourners, 30 of them children, gathered in a red brick church in Arlington yesterday to say goodbye to Harrison Orosco, the second child to die from injuries suffered in last week’s school bus accident.

As a lone bell tolled, seven pallbearers placed the white casket at the front of the church before the funeral Mass. Harrison’s mother, Marisol Gonzalez, broke away from her family, draped herself over the tiny coffin and wept for several minutes, quietly uttering her son’s name.

Harrison “had star quality,” said the Rev. Gerard Creedon, who celebrated part of the funeral Mass at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church. “He expressed that in his faith and in sports.”

Harrison, 7, died Wednesday from injuries he suffered April 18 when the school bus he was riding collided head-on with a garbage truck at the intersection of Columbia Pike and South Courthouse Road in Arlington. The school bus had picked up more than a dozen children and was headed to Hoffman-Boston Elementary School.

Lilibeth Gomez, a 9-year-old third-grader, was killed on impact.

Harrison, a second-grader who was baptized in 2002, was taking catechism classes at the church in preparation for his first Holy Communion next month.

Father Creedon visited Harrison’s family on Sunday to prepare for the funeral.

“Obviously, they are in shock and stressed,” Father Creedon said. “They’re coping as best they can.”

The church parishioners, many of whom attended the funeral, had set up an altar honoring Harrison in the family’s home. They also are bringing the family meals and offering spiritual support and counseling, Father Creedon said.

Several Arlington Public Schools officials and teachers attended the funeral.

“Resource teachers from throughout the school system volunteered to take over classes” so that teachers from Hoffman-Boston could attend, said Linda Erdos, a county schools spokeswoman.

The funeral was conducted in Spanish. A cross that Harrison had made out of a palm branch on Palm Sunday was used on the casket and during the traditional Catholic blessing. Harrison kept it among his toys at home, Father Creedon said.

A card written in Spanish and English was given to each person who attended the funeral. The card displayed a photograph of Harrison holding a soccer trophy high above his head. “Harrison Orosco, in our family, in our heart, you were, you are and always you will be the best winner. Always you will be in our minds as a lovely boy, happy, respectful and athletic angel,” the message read.

Mrs. Gonzalez is devastated by her son’s death, family friends said after the funeral.

“The mom is so sad and depressed; friends are spending nights with her,” said Carao Angulo, 42, of Burke. “We never think that mothers are going to bury their sons or daughters. We expect them to bury us.”

Cynthia Barrera, 36, attended the funeral as a representative of Carlin Springs Elementary School in Arlington. She brought with her a poster-sized card made and signed by the Carlin Springs students while Harrison was in the hospital last week. Written on the card were messages urging Harrison to get well.

Mrs. Barrera said she would give the card to Hoffman-Boston Principal Yvonne Dangerfield as a condolence for the children and staff at Harrison’s school.

Lilibeth’s funeral was held Friday in the District.

Fifteen persons, including the school bus driver and the garbage truck driver, were injured in the crash.

As of yesterday, investigators had not determined the cause of the accident. Officials with the Arlington County Police, Virginia State Police and the National Transportation Safety Board were at the site Sunday to re-enact the sequence of events that led to the crash.

“We may know [the cause] by the end of this week,” said Matt Martin, a spokesman for the Arlington County Police Department.