Bethel, NY – Head Counselor At Pupa Camp Dies In Upstate Collision

Bethel, NY – A beloved Borough Park educator died today after being injured in a head on collision in the Catskills.

Sources said that 42 year old Reuven Chaim Biller, the long time head counselor of the Pupa’s Yeshiva Kehilath Yakov camp in Swan Lake, was critically injured when a vehicle driven by a 17 year old crossed into the lane of oncoming traffic and struck his car at approximately 2:40 this afternoon.

Trooper Steven Nevel of the New York State Police said that the accident took place on Harris Bushville Road in the Town of Bethel.

State troopers and multiple rescue crews, including Hatzolah, the Swan Lake and Liberty fire departments and Mobile Medic responded to the scene on the curving roadway where it took nearly an hour to extricate Biller from his badly mangled Toyota Sienna.

Biller was transported to Catskill Regional Medical Center in critical condition and was about to be airlifted to Westchester Medical Center several hours later when he underwent cardiac arrest and passed away.

The New York State Police is continuing its investigation and are looking into distracted driving by the teen driver as the possible cause of the accident.

Biller was the father of 8 and the son of Dovid Biller, one of the founding members of Borough Park Hatzolah. Details for his funeral are still being finalized but it is expected to take place tomorrow in Borough Park, followed by burial in Monsey.

Biller was a talented individual who always had a good word for everyone, said Rabbi Hersh Friedman, a rebbe at Yeshiva Kehilath Yakov in Borough Park who noted that his passing leaves a tremendous void for the camp, which has yet to open for the summer.