NEW YORK — A 19-year-old New York man described by the coach of the U.S. Olympic boxing team as a future champion was fighting for his life on Monday, a day after a car accident claimed the life of his sister on a Bronx highway.
Pedro Luis Sosa was in critical condition in a coma at Jacobi Medical Center following the Sunday morning accident on the Cross Bronx Expressway. His sister, 20-year-old Jennifer Sosa, was killed when she and her brother were struck by another car, sending them over a barrier and down 75 feet to a roadway below, police said.
The two had stopped after getting into a traffic accident at about 5:45 a.m. and got out of their vehicle to inspect the damage when they were hit by another car. The impact sent them over a concrete barrier onto the Bruckner Boulevard.
Fourteen other people were hurt in the chain-reaction crash that involved at least nine vehicles, officials said. The region was hit with an early season snowstorm on Saturday night.
Joe Zanders, the USA Boxing national coach, said Sosa narrowly missed making the U.S. Olympic team that will compete in the 2012 Games in London, next summer.
“When I watch him box, he reminds me of some of the great champions,” Zanders said Monday. “He has that quality about him. You can see his ability and how he handles himself.”
The coach described Sosa, a 141-pound boxer and one of the best lightweights in the country, as a quiet man, who carries himself with a professional demeanor.
“I could see him boxing (professionally) at Madison Square Garden,” Zanders said. “He’s got those kinds of skills. I’ve always been impressed with him.
“You think he’s quiet and think maybe he’s intimidated. But when he gets into the ring, you see he’s not intimidated, he’s just quiet. His boxing speaks volumes for him. He’s something special. Hopefully everything works out. I’m praying for his recovery.”
The Daily News reported Sosa won the Junior Olympic National Championships in 2008, was the 2009 and 2011 Police Athletic League National Champion and the 2010 USA Boxing National Champion.
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