NEW YORK — A pedestrian killed by a collapsed crane was eulogized Sunday as a man of kindness and generosity as the remnants of the crumpled steel were removed from the Manhattan street.

David Wichs, 38, was described by relatives as a mathematical whiz who graduated from Harvard University and worked at a computerized-trading firm.

His good deeds also made him ‘‘an angel,’’ said Haskel Lookstein, rabbi emeritus of the Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, where the funeral was held.

‘‘We honor a very unique man whose life was a life of giving: giving from his possessions to causes he believed in passionately,’’ Lookstein said.

Wichs, a Manhattan resident, emigrated from Czechoslovakia as a teenager and attended Yeshiva of Flatbush before enrolling at Harvard.

The Yeshiva, which was among the recipients of Wichs’s gifts, had welcomed him as a 14-year-old who barely spoke English.

Officials say it could take weeks to determine why the crane collapsed Friday while being lowered during strong winds.

Associated Press