Lindelia Vasquez, 50, had about seven relatives in town from Colombia and Florida visiting loved ones in Elizabeth, N.J., and booked Tuesday’s charter to take her family on the Big Apple’s waterways, said longtime friend Albert Orozco. “Lindelia and her sister, Omira, are like family to me. I cried when I heard it. Everyone here was crying when we heard the news. Such good people, hard working good people. I couldn’t hide it. I just cried,” Orozco, 60, told The Post. Before their trip, Vasquez and 13 of her relatives, some of whom were from out of town and others who lived in Elizabeth, went to Orozco’s restaurant, Brisas Bakery and Restaurant, where they had breakfast and bought food to bring to ship. he said. “[Tuesday] in the morning the whole family came here at nine, [it] there were 14 of them. He bought empanadas, the cheese bread, the ice cream, everything,” Orozco said, adding that Vasquez works at a restaurant about a block away. “The Colombian community here does not feel good. This community has lost good friends.” Julian Vasquez died in the accident after becoming trapped under the boat. Family photo Lindelia Vasquez had planned the family reunion.vasquezlindelia/Instagram The family was on a tour of the waterways of the Big Apple when the boat capsized. Henry Kaden via Storyful One of Vasquez’s relatives, Julian Vasquez, 7, died in the crash after the two were trapped under the boat when it overturned. “I cried. It’s so sad when I think about the little boy, I cried. He was here yesterday morning. I saved his lollipops. I save the last one for him because I knew he was coming and he likes them,” said Ester Montano, 59, who works at the counter of the restaurant’s bakery. “I cried when I heard that he drowned. So sad so very sad. Go and go right to the freezer, get the tricolor ice creams, the colors of the Colombian flag, just go straight for them. I can’t even think about it it’s so sad. When they told me I couldn’t believe it and I just cried.” Albeiro Orozco said the victims are “good people, hardworking good people.” Stefan Jeremiah for the NY Post Orozco said a representative from the Colombian consulate contacted him for help contacting Vasquez’s family, but everyone’s phones fell into the river and no one was able to make contact. She said Vasquez came to Elizabeth from Colombia nearly 20 years ago. A friend of the woman wrote a heartbreaking post saying he was overwhelmed by her death. At least 12 people were on board at the time of the accident. William Farrington for the NY Post “Man, I have to tell you that my life is different now that I have you as a part of it. I learned so much from you that I came to admire you for how beautiful and hardworking you were,” friend Sandra Roa wrote alongside photos of Vasquez. “I will never forget what a quality person you were and your gift. This is a terrible tragedy and I still can’t believe it. I’m sorry for the grief it caused.” Additional reporting by MaryAnn Martinez
