Caps lose part of ‘fabric’

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The mother of Washington Capitals center Jeff Halpern was killed Friday night in a highway accident in Davie, Fla., a small town near Fort Lauderdale.

According to a spokesman for the Caps, Gloria M. Halpern was one of four people killed in the fiery accident. The identities of the other victims were not available last night but police confirmed four bodies were recovered.

Jeff Halpern had been playing for the Kloten Flyers, a Division I team in Switzerland, and was reported en route to the United States last night. He was expected to arrive in the Washington area today.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic event and the Halpern family will be in our prayers during this difficult time,” said Caps president Dick Patrick in a statement last night. “Everyone in the Capitals family truly will miss Gloria. She was a long-time fan and part of the fabric of the hockey community.”

The accident took place late Friday evening at the I-595 and Florida Turnpike interchange, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. An 18-wheel tanker truck was eastbound on 595 at the turnpike on-ramp when it flipped over, landing on top of the car and bursting into flames.

“For some reason the driver lost control and started overturning” in the right lane of the ramp, police Lt. Pat Santangelo said. The truck landed on top of a car and burst into flames, police said.

According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, one of the passengers in the car, engulfed in flames, jumped out of the vehicle and ran to a lake 30 feet away. That person and three others died at the scene, police said.

Because of the intensity of the fire, rescue personnel were unable to approach the vehicle for more than an hour after the accident. The blaze made the bodies and the vehicle unidentifiable, authorities said.

“It looked like a movie, like somebody staged that explosion,” a witness told the Sun-Sentinel. “The whole thing happened so fast. All I saw was a big explosion and a whole bunch of black smoke.”

The driver of the truck was reported to be in serious condition in a hospital.

Dozens of fire units responded from three different cities but were helpless to do more than watch while the fire burned itself out with small explosions piercing the night.

Jeff Halpern is the first Montgomery County native to make it to the National Hockey League. He grew up a Capitals fan, going to games at Capital Centre with his father, Mel, his mother and sister, Jenny.

His parents were natives of Brooklyn, N.Y., and were hockey fans. Their third date was to a New York Rangers game at Madison Square Garden. They moved to the Washington suburbs in the 1960s where Mel continued his work as a government attorney. Gloria had been an educator.

Jeff Halpern quickly developed into a promising young player in Montgomery County, which meant he had to travel to improve his skills. His driver was one of his parents, usually his father, transporting him all over the East to one function or another. Jeff spent a season playing Junior B hockey in Canada before ending up at Princeton, where he earned a degree and played for four years.