Pictured: The smiling women killed in horror crash on limo trip to vineyard by 'drunk' hit and run driver - as bride-to-be and five others are injured
- Names of the four women who died on Long Island winery trip released
- They died when their limousine was struck by a pickup on Saturday
- Five others were injured and among the survivors was a bride-to-be
- Driver of pickup named as Steve Romeo, 54, who owns a boating business
- Romeo has been charged with DWI and held on $1million bond bail
The names of the four young women who died on Saturday when a pickup truck plowed into the side of their party limousine during a Long Island wineries trip have been released.
Brittany M. Schulman, 23, Lauren Baruch, 24, Stephanie Belli, 23, and Amy R. Grabina, 23, died when Steve Romeo's pickup truck hit their limo with such force that it was almost split in two.
The injured women were identified as Joelle Dimonte, 25, of Elwood, Melissa Angela Crai, 23, of Scarsdale, Alicia Arundel, 24, of Setauket, and Olga Lipets, 24, of Brooklyn.
A young bride-to-be was among the survivors. All were taken to Stony Brook University Hospital hospital. The limo driver, Carlos Pino, 58, of Bethpage, was also taken to hospital with injuries.
Prior reports from police said that the women were enjoying a bachelorette party, but they later clarified it to be a birthday party.
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Tragic: Stephanie Belli was named as one of four victims of the horror crash on Long Island on Saturday
Brittany Schulman, 23, was also killed in the accident as their limo was returning home after the wine tour
Friends: Amy Grabina, (left) also died in the limo crash along with Lauren Baruch (right)
Romeo has been charged with driving while intoxicated and arraigned at his Eastern Long Island Hospital bed where he has been since his arrest when he was allegedly caught fleeing the scene.
According to Southold Local, Suffold County Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Miller confirmed that Romeo, 55, had been charged with DWI and held on $1million bond bail and that the DA will seek to upgrade the seriousness of the charges.
Romeo's attorney Dan O'Brien said that his client would plead not guilty during his scheduled court appearance on Friday and denied he was running away from the scene.
No results have been published yet regarding Romeo’s blood alcohol level at the time of the accident, Miller said.
Survivors: Olga Lipets (left) and Alicia Arundel were among those injured in the crash on Route 48
Victim: Joelle DiMonte (left) was traveling with seven other friends when Romeo's vehicle collided with their limousine
An extended cab truck T-boned the limo, which was carrying seven women, around 5pm on Saturday
Three of the women died at the scene and were covered with sheets and the fourth died at the hospital
Arrested: Pickup driver Steve Romeo
A law enforcement official said the accident happened on Saturday when Romeo's pickup T-boned the limo, which was carrying seven or eight women.
It took place along Route 48 around 5pm in Cutchogue on Long Island's North Fork.
The limo was leaving a winery called Vineyard 48 and making a U-turn at a blinking traffic signal to head west when the red truck collided with it, Southold Police Chief Martin Flatley told Newsday.
'He [the pickup driver] hit the brakes right before and he broadsided the limo right on the passenger side,' he said.
'This is one of the worst accidents I've ever seen,' he added.
Before the names of the women were released details of Romeo's checkered work history were revealed.
In January 2014, Romeo, who is the co-owner of Romeo Dimon Marine Services was operating a skid steer loader when a bucket fell off the truck and killed 30-year-old Andrew Leone after striking him in the head.
Leone was not wearing a hard hat inside the boating firm's warehouse and suffered 'severe head trauma'.
Police ruled that incident a tragic accident and Romeo and his business partner Kris Dimon were fined $28,000 for four 'serious' safety violations according to the Suffolk Times.
At the time, Dimon said: 'It was a tragic accident; that's all I can say. And my business or personal life will never be the same because of it.'
Romeo and Dimon are still currently facing a lawsuit regarding Leone's death.
Southold Police chief Martin Flatley told CBS News that the impact of Saturday's accident was so violent it nearly sheared the limo in half.
'The pickup truck was halfway through the limo,' said witness Lynne Lulfs to the New York Daily News.
'We saw bodies hanging out of the left side of the car. They looked like young girls. It was just arms, and heads and hair.'
Celebration: The girls, including Stephanie Belli pictured above, had been enjoying a relaxing trip to a Long Island winery when the crash happened
Brittney Schulman pictured left, and Amy Grabina, pictured right were both killed in the horror smash. Both women were 23
Lauren Baruch, 24, was also killed in the crash. The group of friends had been celebrating a birthday
A law enforcement official said the extended cab truck T-boned the limo along Route 48 in Cutchogue
The limo was leaving a winery called Vineyard 48 and making a U-turn at a traffic signal on Long Island
Witnesses at the scene described seeing 'bloodied evening clothes' on the group of female victims
A passing motorist, 76-year-old Ted Webb, called 911 and ran to the limo after seeing the accident.
He said the truck was 'embedded' into the limo and that two survivors clad in black party dresses were silent after seeing 'what happened directly in front of them'.
Webb said: 'They had to die instantly. There was no noise. No screaming no shouting,'
'They looked like they were in a state of shock,' Webb said of the surviving victims.
'They weren't screaming or shouting,' he said. 'They're sitting in the back and they saw what happened directly in front of them.'
It was initially reported that the women were part of a bridal or bachelorette party and that the wreck shredded the victims' party dresses, according to the New York Daily News.
However police later said the women were celebrating a birthday however one of the women who was injured is a bride-to-be.
The Suffolk County DA's office is involved in an investigation into the accident
Lynne Lulfs, a Hampton Bays woman who witnessed the accident, called it 'surreal'.
She said: 'It was as if to say, 'I know I've done wrong, come get me.'
'As we came around, all we saw were bodies out the left side of the vehicle, hanging out.'
Witnesses at the scene described seeing 'bloodied evening clothes' and at least one of the women was heard 'calling for her mother', Southold Local reported.
Two police helicopters assisted in the rescue and landed directly on Route 48, which was closed down and remained that way for several hours, according to Fios 1.
The Suffolk County DA's office is now involved in the investigation.
Two police helicopters assisted in the rescue and landed directly on Route 48, which was closed down
The driver was charged with DWI and will be arraigned. The names of the victims haven't been released
The state revoked Vineyard 48's liquor license in late 2013.
The Cutchogue winery vowed to appeal the decision to State Supreme Court at the time.
Bill Shipman, whose house is across the road from the winery and saw Saturday's accident, lauded the decision to take away the license and warned about the possibility of a fatality in the future.
He said Saturday: 'This is the thing we've complained about since 2010 and it still goes on every week.
'They block the lanes of traffic and back up to make their turns. It's a disaster. I've said a limo is going to get T-boned here.'
The driver of the truck was reportedly taken to the hospital with broken ribs and a bloodied nose
Limousines are common in the area for people visiting the numerous wineries there.
Saturday's collision marked the second car crash with multiple fatalities on Long Island in the last several days.
Last Sunday, a father and his two children were killed when their sedan was rear-ended and the car burst into flames. His wife - the children's mother - escaped uninjured.
A Queens man was charged with driving while intoxicated in connection with the crash and another man was charged with driving his friend away from the scene. Both have pleaded not guilty and deny any wrongdoing.
- Source: Crash in Cutchogue leaves several people dead | Newsday
- www.nydailynews....
- Cops: Four fatalities reported in crash after limo is t-boned in CutchogueSuffolk Times | Suffolk Times
- 4 dead, 2 injured after limo carrying bridal party is hit in Cutchogue | Verizon FiOS1 News - Long Island
- southoldlocal.co...
- 4 women dead, 2 seriously injured in Cutchogue, Long Island limo crash | 7online.com
- Driver Of Pickup Truck Arrested After Limo Crash Kills 4 Bridesmaids « CBS New York
- 4 women dead after hit-and-run driver plows into limo | New York Post
- southoldlocal.co...
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