Family and friends said a final goodbye Friday to the World War II veteran from Muttontown who was struck and killed by a Long Island Rail Road train last week.

Michael Grande, 86, was killed when he drove his car onto the train tracks at the Robbins Lane LIRR crossing in Syosset. The train hit his car and dragged it for almost a mile. Some blame a mishap with one of the crossing gates for the accident. Witnesses say one of the gates at the intersection was up at the time of the crash.

Hundreds gathered at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Brookville, where Grande donated a lot of his time. Grande?s daughter Jean Regan says her father was a wonderful man and was loved by so many people.

?If you needed anything, whether it was a ride or a favor and no matter what, it came first,? Regan says. ?He's going to be missed by a lot of people.?

Grande?s family members say they want to see railroad crossing gates raised to prevent something similar from happening again. At a meeting earlier this week, LIRR president Helena Williams said the gates at the crossing where Grande's car was hit were down, but the gates did go up for 2.5 seconds before it lowered again. That was before Grande drove through.