Car Accident Takes Life of Edwin “Eddie” Ramirez

FISHKILL – Last Wednesday afternoon, Edwin “Eddie” Ramirez was killed in a car accident on Route 9D in Fishkill. State police said Ramirez was driving in the south bound lane when the Chevrolet Equinox he was driving entered the north bound lane and hit a school bus for unknown reasons.

The accident occurred between Red Schoolhouse and Baxtertown Roads around 1:30 p.m. Paramedics pronounced Ramirez dead at the scene of the accident.

According to the Wappingers Central School District, no students were on the bus at the time of the accident. The bus driver, was transported to St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Ramirez was the CEO of R&M Promotions and Entertainment which hosted numerous Latin Festivals in the Hudson Valley over the years.

He, along with his wife Norma, were also the founders of the Hudson Valley Latino Scholarship program in 1991. The two would recognize between eight and ten college bound students each year over the last two decades.

During the ceremony, students would receive a plaque, flowers and a monetary award for their higher education. They would also hear inspirational words from a guest speaker.

“This is a different kind of scholarship,” said Eddie Ramirez during the annual awards event in 2019. “It is our way of saying we as Latinos care about your education, and we look to you as future leaders.”

The scholarship was a way the proud father and grandfather could give back to the community with his wife. With his passing, it is highly probable that the scholarship will now bear his name.

A wake will be held on Wednesday, January 27 at Straub Catalano & Halvey Funeral Home at 55 E. Main St, Wappingers Falls from 4 to 8 p.m.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Thursday, January 28, 2021 at 11 a.m. at St. Mary’s Church, 11 Clinton Street in Wappingers Falls. Interment with military honors will follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Wappingers Falls. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Hudson Valley Latino HS Scholarship Fund online at www.rmpromotions.com.