'It Doesn't Feel Real': Family Speaks Out As Man Pleads Not Guilty After Fatal LI Crash Killed 2 Teens: DA

HICKSVILLE, NY — Frank Labidi, 24, pleaded not guilty on Thursday morning to manslaughter and assault charges in connection with a fatal crash in Hicksville that killed two Levittown teenagers.

The Farmingville man was arraigned before Judge Robert Bogle in a packed courtroom at the Nassau County Courthouse in Mineola.

Labidi was arraigned on grand jury indictment charges of two counts of second-degree manslaughter (a C felony) and two counts of second-degree assault (a D violent felony), the DA's office said.

Labidi pleaded not guilty, and bail was continued at $500,000 cash, $1.25 million bond, and $2.5 million partially secured bond, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.

Labidi is due back in court on April 28, and if convicted, he can face up to 7 to 15 years in prison, the DA said.

Lindsey Rose Parke and Alexa Duryea, both 19 years old, were killed after a car crash on the night of Jan. 23, Nassau County police said.

Recently, the Parke family spoke with Patch, sharing the beauty and 'firecracker' spirit of their daughter. After the arraignment, in an emotional display, family members showed their shirts and necklaces, adorned with their beloved Lindsey's photo.

Lindsey's brother, Timothy Sitzman, said he wouldn't wish his pain on anyone.

"They were driving faster than their guardian angel could fly that night, and they weren't able to be protected, and right now, we have to live with that every day," he said. "Every day, we wake up, and it weighs on us. It doesn't feel real."

He added: "A car like that should never be on a road on a night like that," he said. "It was freezing. If you have summer tires on, they don't grip the road."



Lindsey's father, Edward Parke, said he's working to make a difference, encouraging people to drive more slowly in honor of his youngest daughter, Lindsey.

"We're trying to change that [the law] up in Albany as well," he said, adding that he's met with senators. "I'm not going to stop at that."

He said Lindsey was always the first one to help someone. The two of them were on Hempstead Turnpike when they witnessed a car get T-boned and flipped over.

"She was in the car getting the baby out and the wife out before any patrol car got there," he said. "She was the first one to always respond and help."

On another occasion, just two months before she passed, Lindsey helped pull a man out of a car that flipped a few times, her sister Haley Parke said.

Edward showed his necklace, which had a memorial bracelet attached to it with Lindsey's ashes within it.

"I wear this every day," he said, touching the memorial bracelet lovingly. "It's my way of talking to her every day."

Annette Parke, Lindsey's mother, added that they each have a "little something so we can carry her with us everywhere."

She agreed with Edward — Lindsey was the one to be by someone's side in an emergency.

"She was the first one to jump out of the car to help somebody," she said. "Unfortunately, this was so bad, that nobody could help her when the time came."

Annette urges people to be responsible when getting behind the wheel.

"We have to live without them for the rest of our lives," she said. "When you're driving a vehicle, it's serious. You're responsible for other people. You're responsible for the people around you. You're responsible for the people in your car. Driving in a vehicle is a serious thing, not to play around with. Unfortunately, Lindsey and Alexa suffered, and we're all suffering every day for the rest of our lives because now we don't have them anymore."

She said she wants justice.

"He was driving the vehicle," she said. "His foot was on the gas. He chose to do it. He chose to drive the speed that he was driving. He needs to be held accountable and responsible."

Haley was just a few minutes ahead of Lindsey, at home, waiting for the three of them to arrive. They had all played pool at Round 1, a few minutes away, and were supposed to meet up at the Parke Family home in Levittown to regroup before heading to Wawa, one of Lindsey's favorite spots. She had rode passenger in her boyfriend's car with another friend, all on the same route.

"There was no reason they couldn't get home but the driver and his choices, and that wasn't his choice to make for them," Haley said. "The only people that know what happened in that car are the three of them, and the only person who is left to tell that story is him."

In response to hearing him plead guilty, Haley said, "It's not fair because we'll never hear their voices again or see their faces again, and he gets to walk in and say 'not guilty,' and he knows what he did."

Labidi was driving his 2018 BMW M5 westbound on West Old Country Road on Jan. 23 at about 11:30 p.m. at a high rate of speed with Parke and Duryea as passengers in the car, the DA's office said.

Labidi lost control of the vehicle, crossing over into oncoming traffic in the eastbound lanes, then crashed into a tree and a commercial building, the DA's office said.

The passenger side of the car struck the tree at impact, killing Parke and Duryea instantly, and propelled the car's muffler through the window of an orthopedic practice, the DA said.

According to the car's crash data recorder, Labidi was accused of driving 82 miles per hour — in a 40 miles per hour speed limit zone — with full acceleration and no braking three seconds before the crash, the DA's office said.

The data recorder also showed the car's stability control system was manually disabled, which overrides safety features that were built into the car to protect passengers, the DA said.

Labidi is a "racing enthusiast" and had driven the same car in a previous race at a raceway in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, Donnelly said.

"Grossly reckless actions made by a man looking for cheap trills," she said.

Labidi also made $35,000 in modifications to the engine and transmission of the car, the DA said.

Donnelly said she was heartbroken for the family and that the crash was a "preventable" tragedy.

"He wants to race around, and he forgot there were two other people in the car with him," Donnelly said. "Speeding and reckless driving are not harmless thrills."

Donnelly said there is more to the issue and that until people stop racing, there may not be much change.

"It's mostly young men who engage in these races," she said. "[They] don't fully comprehend the possibility of an accident and death, and until they get it through their heads that this is not a safe activity, we're going to see these problems, and they're going to continue, especially when they're trying to race on a roadway. It's not a racetrack."

Donnelly said the charges were decided on for a combination of reasons — the conduct was "so reckless that we believe that it came up to the level of a manslaughter charge. The speeding, the 'souped up' car, the disregard for the lives of the people who are in the car with him," she said.

She also reflected on the families mourning the loss of the two teens.

"They want to see justice," Donnelly said. "They feel that they need to see justice for who they consider to be their child's killer."

Labidi was arrested on Jan. 30 by the Nassau County Police Department. Labidi is represented by Peter Menoudakos, the DA's office said.

Menoudakos was not immediately available for comment.

The Parke family said Lindsey Rose Parke's passions were helping people, baking, and spending time with friends and family. The way Lindsey cherished her family, friends, and community will transcend generations, living in each person she touched, the family said.

Her parents said they see their little girl in the grocery store, in Wawas, in Dunkins, in each room of the house. Her mother’s voice cracked with emotion: "Everywhere."