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By KAREN KELLERHERALD NEWS CLIFTON -- His kidneys, lungs, liver and pancreas saved the lives of four people. But the hospital couldn't find a home for the heart of 17-year-old Michael Hamade, despite keeping him on life support for two days for just that purpose, said the teenager's grandfather, William Kowal. "I think God just wouldn't let the heart come out of Michael," Kowal said. His grandson was struck and killed on Route 46 by a car last Friday. On Thursday, Michael and his heart were buried.Dozens of teenagers, with excused absences from school, dressed in black to grieve for one of their own. About 400 people attended Michael's funeral, held at 10 a.m. at St. Andrew The Apostle R.C. Church, in the city's Athenia section.Students said that Michael was well known at Clifton High School. Even with 3,400 students roaming the halls of the largest high school in New Jersey on a single campus, Michael stood out. "Everyone knew him," said Robert Regazzi, a junior. Several boys wore red Clifton sports jackets, some with a "lacrosse" emblem on the back -- a sport Michael used to play. A boy in a burgundy knit cap after the service solemnly distributed cigarettes outside to buddies, all clustered in a small circle in silence.The youngest of four siblings, "Mikey" loved to fish, hunt, cook, make people laugh, and change his hair color and style. Recently it was a Beatles style, and before that, he tried to match his girlfriend's golden hair color, his brother, James, 18, said. During the funeral, his siblings recalled their generous, hilarious baby brother."He would go fearlessly down the gigantic water slide over and over again," James said. "He'd come out with a huge wedgie. We'd call him 'sumo wrestler.' He didn't care. He just wanted to make us laugh." Michael's sister, Jessica, 21, said he had saved for months to buy his girlfriend earrings for her birthday.On the night of Nov. 30, Michael had just celebrated his girlfriend Natalia's, sweet-16 birthday party at her home. He drove on Route 46 eastbound with two passengers in his car. At 9:06 p.m. he made a right turn onto Vernon Avenue, said Capt. Robert Rowan, a police spokesman.He drove over a curb, up a grassy slope and hit a wooden fence, said police Lt. John Link, the city's traffic commander. But the accident was minor and no one was hurt, Rowan said.At some point over the next hour, Rowan said, police arrived on the scene. It was Friday night and police were delayed because they were stretched thin, he said. A police officer took Michael's information. Then the officer sat back in his car to write a report.At 10:01 p.m., Michael was struck in the left lane, or the "fast lane" of the highway, Rowan said. The motorist who hit Michael had informed the officer, still in his car, of the accident, Rowan said.Before Michael's funeral, his father said he faults the officer for not ensuring the safety of a minor. Rowan said the police generally try to "secure" accident scenes when they arrive, which sometimes involves the addition of lights and flares. Rowan and Link -- who is heading an investigation of the accident -- said they couldn't confirm any further details of the accident. The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office is helping with the investigation, Link said. All traffic fatalities are investigated as a matter of course, he said.Michael's father, Rocky, said his son had been talking to him on his cell phone when he was struck. The conversation ended in mid-sentence, he said.Standing in the foyer of the funeral home, Rocky Hamade said his son had always been lucky. He used to catch the first fish on family fishing trips, even as a child with simple equipment.His famous words were, "'I got another!'" his father said.Michael's favorite song, several people said, was "White Houses," by Vanessa Carlton. He sang the song in a YouTube video, several people said.
ya thats really sad.has anyoe found the video?
