Update: Police have released the names of the victims killed in yesterday’s horrific crash.
The young women who lost their lives in the accident were identified as Brittany M. Schulman, 23, of Smithtown, Lauren Baruch, 24, of Smithtown, Stephanie Belli, 23, of Kings Park, and Amy R. Grabina, 23, of Commack.
Also injured in the accident were the driver of the limousine, Carlos Pino, 58, of Bethpage, Joelle M. Dimonte, 25, of Ellwood, Melissa Angela Crai, 23, of Scarsdale, Alicia Arundel, 24, of Setauket, and Olga Lipets, 24, of Brooklyn. All were taken to area hospitals for treatment, police said.
Original story: The man charged with driving while intoxicated and slamming into a limo during a horrific accident that left four dead was arraigned at his Eastern Long Island Hospital beside by Judge Rudy Breuer today.
According to Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Miller, who works in the vehicular crimes unit, Steven Romeo, 55, of Southold, was charged with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor. He was held on $500,000 cash or $1 million bond bail. Miller said the DA’s office will seek to upgrade the charges.
He is due back in Southold justice court Friday.
Romeo’s attorney Dan O’Brien said his client pleaded not guilty.
He expressed condolences to the victims’ families after the tragedy and said Romeo had “serious” injuries. “It’s a tough situation,” he said.
O’Brien said his client did not try to run from police, as some have reported.
“He did not leave the scene,” he said.
No results are available yet regarding Rome’s blood alcohol level at the time of the accident, Miller said.
Miller confirmed that the passengers in the limo included a bride and her bridesmaids who were “celebrating a wedding,” but did not specify if they attended a bachelorette party. The bride survived, she said.
The limo driver was making a turn on Route 48 to head west when Romeo, who was heading west, T-boned the car.
Romeo is no stranger to tragedy: In 2014, he was involved in an industrial accident that killed a worker, according to multiple reports
Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley confirmed last night that Romeo driving while intoxicated and was arrested.
Four were killed in the horrific accident on Route 48 in Cutchogue caused when a limo carrying eight passengers made a turn to head west and was struck by the westbound driver of a red pickup, resulting in the T-bone crash, police said. At least three died at the scene, Flatley said, and a fourth person died at Peconic Bay Medical Center.
Flatley said the limo, which thought to be carrying all women, was believed to be coming from Vineyard 48 and headed west, possibly to one of the boroughs in New York City. None of the deceased have local identification, he said.
Witnesses at the scene were visibly shaken, describing the screams and bloodied evening clothes. One young woman was heard calling for her mother, a witness said.
Billowing white sheets covered victims inside the limo, where windows were broken from the impact of the crash. Broken glass and wreckage littered the roadway.
One woman at the scene told SoutholdLOCAL she’d seen CPR being performed on a victim, who was then airlifted to Stony Brook Hospital.
Some said the passengers in the limo were bridesmaids coming from a bachelorette party or other wedding event.
In recent years, Vineyard 48 neighbors have cried out about limo operators, carrying patrons to the winery, driving dangerously on area roads and parking outside their homes.
Of the accident, Flatley said, “It was a dangerous move. This is what we’ve always been afraid of.” Limos making such turns take up two to three lanes and pose a danger on area roads, Flatley said, one reason why the town has been cautioning against potential tragedy on Route 48 for years.
Drivers of both the limo and truck survived and were taken to Eastern Long Island Hospital for treatment.
Emergency responders from across the North Fork, including Southold, Mattituck, Cutchogue, Greenport, East Marion and Orient responded to the scene. Victims were transported from the scene by Suffolk County medevac.
The investigation is ongoing, police said.
