Bench installed at Syosset High School in memory of student Ben Daggett

Friends and family of Ben Daggett made sure Friday that he would always have a place at Syosset High School.

Daggett, 17, died Feb. 1, two weeks after he was hit by a car while riding his bicycle Jan. 15 on South Oyster Bay Road. His mother, Jaime Daggett, said he loved school and his friends and had a thirst for making music and playing football and video games.

The sudden tragedy motivated his classmates to raise more than $4,400 for the family to help cover medical expenses while Ben lay in a coma. But his mother said she wanted to use the money to help remember her son and his legacy.

So, nine months later Friday, more than 50 of Ben’s friends joined school officials and his family to dedicate a bench donated by the family to be placed in the courtyard of Syosset High School, engraved with lyrics and memorializing him.

“This is what Ben would have wanted. He would have wanted to be with his friends,” Jaime Daggett said. “This makes me proud to be a member of this community and proud to have been his mother. This gives us hope.”

The Syosset High School junior was eight days shy of his 17th birthday when he was riding his bike at 10:45 a.m. that Sunday morning to his weekend job at McDonald’s. He was working to save money to buy a car.

He was struck by a Nissan Altima turning east onto a Long Island Expressway service road. The 54-year-old driver of the Altima remained at the scene and was not charged in the crash.

The fundraising effort was led by two of Daggett’s friends, Gabriele Leone and Drew Tendler, both 17. They delivered the money to the family, who helped craft the bench and donated it to the school district. The teens also gave the family a laser-engraved portrait of Ben.

“This will keep him with us forever,” Tendler said Friday.

His mother said he was a prolific rapper and music helped him get through difficult times. The bench is engraved reading, “Ben Daggett — Always Loved.”

“Life is what you make of it and you made it beautiful” and “The music of your life lives on,” is engraved on the back of the bench. 

High school and district officials unveiled the bench during an informal ceremony in the school courtyard after school let out Friday.

His mother read a poem to her son. Syosset High School principal Giovanni Durante and Syosset school board president Carol Cheng dedicated the bench as a gift to the community and a symbol of his spirit.

“In too short of a time that he was with us, he has left an indelible mark on our entire school community,” Durante said. “We remember and celebrate a student whose presence touched us all in deep and profound ways and left a lasting impact on our school. As he brought warmth, kindness, and a radiant spirit in everything he did. His impact continues to inspire and unite us.”

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.