7 Years After Limo Crash Kills 4: 'Nothing Can Make The Grief Go Away'

NORTH FORK, NY — Monday marks seven years since a horrific 2015 limo crash in Cutchogue that took the lives of four young women and left four others seriously injured. But for the families who lost their girls — and a community where the memory of that day is forever etched in hearts and memories — the dark hours seem just a heartbeat away.

In the years since, the families have strived to raise awareness about limousine safety and to keep the memory of their daughters alive. In 2018, the lane at the entrance to Smithtown High School West, known as LABS Lane, was dedicated in tribute to Lauren Baruch, 24, Stephanie Belli, 23, Brittney Schulman, 23, and Amy Grabina, 23, who died in the horrific crash in July 2015. "LABS" stands for the first initial of each of their names.

Three of the women died at the crash site, after their limo was T-boned by a pickup, and another died at a hospital.

Nancy DiMonte, whose daughter Joelle was seriously injured in the crash, as were Alicia Arundel, Melissa Crai, and Olga Lipets, said it seems unthinkable that seven years have passed.

"Seven years and still, no accountability," she said. "We're at our wit's end."

Despite news last year that a permanent memorial would be created to honor the girls after a tribute at the site of the crash, on Route 48 and Depot Lane, was removed without explanation for the second time — that dream has not come to fruition.

The limo had just left Vineyard 48 at the time of the crash; residents crying out for change said the limos leaving the winery at the time were too large for the U-turns they made Depot Lane in order to head west on Route 48.

And, despite the fact that, after tireless advocacy, limo reforms were signed into law by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, DiMonte said there is much work still to be done. That's why, she said, she sits on Gov. Kathy Hochul's limousine task force.

Locally, a green turning arrow has still not been installed at the site, despite repeated requests to Suffolk County, she said.

Also, she said, litigation against Southold Town and Suffolk County remains "at a standstill."

Seven years may have passed, DiMonte said, but there is still an urgency; their story needs to be told, again and again, so no other families have to bear the unthinkable agony that all have lived with, since that sunny July day.

"We've got to keep the memory alive," she said. "As soon as you forget, there's complacency. There are still limos out there — this is the season for wine, and all we want to do is try and make sure people remain safe."

For the families, July 18 is forever blanketed in grief, as are all the anniversaries and birthdays and holidays and weddings, without their daughters.

Each of the families spent the day together, remembering, DiMonte said.

Her own daughter still sees doctors for her injuries, she said. "It's never-ending."

And for all, there has been no closure. "There's no accountability," she said. "It's not normal — four girls died."

There is still collective anger that their memorial, erected with love, was dismantled. All that remained by the pole on Route 48 and Depot Lane in April were a few purple ribbons, a bracelet dedicated to the four women, and a plastic angel on the ground. The pole had been redecorated with a temporary memorial, including photographs, flowers, and painted rocks after the original tribute at the location disappeared.

"We have no idea who would do something so reckless," DiMonte said. "We are angry. That was a sacred place for us."

Always, ever present, is the pain, DiMonte said. "The grief . . .nothing we do is going to make the grief go away," she said.

Although life goes on, as it must — there are other children to raise, bills to pay, jobs to get back to — life was forever changed on that day in July seven years ago, DiMonte said.

"My daughter saw her friends perish in front of her," she said. "Those girls never forger what they saw. It's impossible."

And, she has said: "Four fallen angels, four injured souls, eight distressed families — no justice."

The four were killed when their limo was T-boned by a red pickup truck driven by Steven Romeo of Southold at the intersection of County Road 48 and Depot Lane in Cutchogue on July 18, 2015.

The driver of the limo, Carlos Pino, 58, of Bethpage, was also hurt in the crash. Romeo pleaded guilty to driving while ability impaired by alcohol, a traffic infraction, in 2017. The limo driver, Pino, was charged with criminally negligent homicide, failure to yield the right of way, and other charges, but Justice Fernando Camacho dismissed the indictment.

In July, 2020, Bob Sullivan, the Cutchogue-based attorney for the four young women, unveiled ambulance records that he said indicated there was a new witness at the scene of the crash.

No matter how much time has passed, the North Fork community, the first responders, will never forget the crash, the screams and sirens that still echo, the scarred hearts that remain.

"Seven years ago today, right around this time, Amy Grabina, Stephanie Belli, Lauren Baruch and Brittney Schulman lost their lives because a limo driver failed to yield the right of way," Beth Shipman — whose husband Bill warned for years about unsafe conditions at the site to the town board — said. "Families changed forever. It never should have happened. I still think about this tragedy each time I make the turn to come home or head out. I don’t think I will ever forget."