Children in Long Island Accident Return Home From Hospital

All of the children injured Thursday’s traffic accident at the Chanukah Wonderland in Woodmere, N.Y., returned home before Shabbat.

Rabbi Zalman Wolowik, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of the Five Towns – the Cedarhurst-based Jewish center that operated the Chanukah workshop – praised G‑d that the children were released from the hospital, but noted that a journey of recovery lay ahead. Some 14 people in Thursday’s incident when a vehicle jumped the curb and plowed into the building housing the Chanukah Wonderland.

“Thank G‑d, they’re home,” said Wolowik. “We, of course, continue to pray for the complete recovery of those injured, the parents who are hospitalized and the children who are still on the road to full recovery.”

Soon after the accident, Wolowik and his staff set up a 24-hour helpline and assembled a team of professionals to counsel the injured and their families, as well as eyewitnesses and community members affected by the incident. The staff also visited the injured in the hospital, delivered toys to the children and prepared kosher meals for their families.

On Saturday night, more than 40 people from the community attended a Chanukah menorah lighting sponsored by the Chabad center during which Wolowik addressed the accident. More are expected to attend a similar lighting ceremony on Sunday night.

The rabbi saw in the events of last week many miracles. The accident could have been much worse, he noted, a fact underscored by the heroic actions of one Cedarhurst man who happened to be looking out the window as the car came barreling towards the Chanukah Wonderland.

According to the New York Post, 30-year-old Dovi Faivish pushed two groups of kids out of way before the vehicle came crashing through.

“If he wasn’t there, I think this would have been much worse,” witness Samuel Baum told the newspaper.

“I thank G‑d for giving me the opportunity to help,” said Faivish. “It was a modern-day Chanukah miracle.”

“Let’s thank G‑d for the miracles we’ve witnessed,” said Wolowik, “and pray for continuous miracles.”

Information on the helpline set up by Chabad of the Five Towns, as well as a list of participating agencies and therapists, can be found at the center’s Web site by clicking here.