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Limo driver pleads not guilty to homicide charges after last summer’s fatal crash

SoutholdLOCAL file photo

The driver of the limousine in last July’s fatal crash on Route 48 in Cutchogue has pleaded not guilty to criminally negligent homicide, assault and other charges filed against him today by Suffolk County prosecutors.

Carlos Pino, a 58-year-old Old Bethpage resident, was indicted by a Suffolk County grand jury yesterday on four counts of criminally negligent homicide, four counts of assault for injuring the surviving passengers of the limousine, making an illegal U-turn and other charges (see full story).

He pleaded not guilty to all charges. Bail was posted at $50,000 cash and $100,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court again on April 19.

Suffolk DA Thomas Spota announces charges against the driver of the limousine in last summer's fatal accident. Photo: Peter Blasl.
Suffolk DA Thomas Spota announces charges against the driver of the limousine in last summer’s fatal accident. Photo: Peter Blasl.

Pino allegedly failed to yield to oncoming traffic when he attempted the fatal U-turn at the intersection of County Road 48 and Depot Lane July 18, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said today at a press conference.

He steered his limousine into westbound traffic and was t-boned by a pickup truck driven by Steven Romeo, a 55-year-old Peconic man who was found to be driving under the influence of alcohol, Spota said.

Four of the eight young women in the limousine were killed in the accident.

Romeo was indicted yesterday on two counts of driving while intoxicated and one count of driving while ability impaired. A grand jury declined to also indict him on criminally negligent homicide and assault charges because an exhaustive investigation found that, even if Romeo had been sober, he would have been unable to see the limousine in time to stop.

“A perfectly sober Steven Romeo could not avoid this crash. An intoxicated Steven Romeo could not avoid this crash. It was simply unavoidable from Romeo’s perspective,” Spota said at the press conference today.

Romeo, who was also arraigned today, pleaded not guilty to the charges of driving while intoxicated and driving while ability impaired. He was released on his own recognizance, with his next court date scheduled for April 26, 2016.

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Katie Blasl
Katie, winner of the 2016 James Murphy Cub Reporter of the Year award from the L.I. Press Club, is a reporter, editor and web developer for the LOCAL news websites. A Riverhead native, she is a 2014 graduate of Stony Brook University. Email Katie