High School Senior Fatally Impaled by Tree Limb on Long Island: Police

The victim had climbed onto bluffs after a party and lost his footing while trying to come down

A Long Island teen died after falling off bluffs at the beach and becoming impaled on a tree limb over the weekend.

Matthew Grimaldi, of Lake Grove, fell near Hulse Landing Beach in Wading River shortly before 7 p.m. Sunday, Riverhead police said.

He and friends attending a party had climbed onto the nearby bluffs and Grimaldi lost his footing while trying to come down, according to police. He landed on the branches of a felled tree, and was punctured in the chest.  

Grimaldi was a senior at Ward Melville High School and was set to graduate next month along with his twin brother. He was to attend Clarkson University in the fall and planned to major in engineering, according to principal Dr. Alan Baum.

"Matthew was a bright student and very well-liked among fellow classmates and staff," Baum said in a statement Tuesday. "Our school community is mourning the loss of an extremely kind, generous, considerate and genuine individual. Matthew was a very family-oriented, respectful and happy person and he will truly be missed."

The school plans to have grief counselors available when classes resume this week. 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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