Almost 8 Years After Deadly LI Limo Crash, Families Plead For Safety

NORTH FORK, NY — July will mark eight years since four young women died, and four others sustained devastating injuries, in a horrific Cutchogue limo crash — and the parents who lost their daughters are fearful that the same thing could all too easily happen again.

Nancy DiMonte, whose daughter Joelle was one of the four that survived the Cutchogue crash, spoke with Patch recently about concerns voiced by the parents. With marijuana dispensaries looming in the future on Long Island, DiMonte said there are not enough regulations in place to prevent tragedy.

And, too, with Memorial Day approaching, there are proms and graduations also on the calendar — with limousines playing a central part in the festivities.

"It's going on eight years now, and on behalf of the eight families, we want to remind people that safety is the utmost concern," DiMonte said; Paul Schulman, father of Brittney Schulman who died in the limo crash in 2015, also echoed those fears.

"After 8 years, the families are still kind of wondering when just will be served," DiMonte said; litigation remains ongoing.

But, most important, she added: "We're just very focused on making sure this does not happen to anyone else. This is the season. We weren't the first— and we're not going to be the last."

Although safety reforms were embraced last year, something for which the families are grateful, there is still work to be done, DiMonte said.

There is still no green turning arrow at County Road 48 and Depot Lane, where the crash took place. "The families agree there should be a green turning arrow," DiMonte said. "It's a very busy road."

Traffic on the North Fork has increased dramatically since the pandemic, DiMonte noted — sparking even greater concerns as the busy summer season nears.

"Nothing's changed," she said. "We want people to have a good time, but they have to be very careful, aware of their surroundings."

DiMonte and others have advocated for a pre-trip tutorial that would be given to those readying to ride in a limousine, so that they know where the safety features are; she voted for the measure as a member of New York's Stretch Limousine Passenger Safety Task Force, and it passed, she said.

"Before that thing takes off, ask for a pre-trip tutorial," she said. "It could save your life."

There are features many are unaware of, DiMonte said. For example, there's a tool in the limo that cracks the glass if passengers are trapped and cannot get out. "We didn't know that when our girls were setting out," she said, adding that she learned about the feature while on the task force.

Also, she added, passengers should ask to see the driver's license and find out if the limo was recently inspected.

"Paul Shulman and I are speaking on behalf of all New Yorkers," DiMonte said. "This year marks eight years. It's very, very painful. And with the season upon us, and the town booming, we just want everyone to be safe."

Last year, DiMonte, said the state's limousine task force had completed its mission and put forth new recommendations, with the next step including them being signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

With 154 pages of recommendations, some of the key points that need to be addressed, DiMonte told Patch, include removing limos from the road that are more than 10 years old or have driven 350,000 miles; more stringent inspection of equipment; augmented driver training and driver drug testing; pre-trip safety training for limo passengers; and enhanced side panel protection.

DiMonte said the outcry for limo reform came after the 2015 limo crash. Brittney Schulman, 23, and Lauren Baruch, 24, both of Smithtown, Stephanie Belli, 23, of Kings Park, and Amy Grabina, 23, of Commack, all lost their lives. Injured in the crash were Joelle M. DiMonte, 25, of Ellwood, Melissa Angela Crai, 23, of Scarsdale, Alicia Arundel, 24, of Setauket, and Olga Lipets, 24, of Brooklyn.

In 2020, after years of advocating tirelessly for change, parents applauded comprehensive limousine reforms agreed upon by both the Senate and Assembly.

Now, with new recommendations moving ahead, DiMonte said the push for safety has resulted in concrete change.

As a mother, it was empowering to know that she could raise her voice as a person who's been through what the families have, and change things for others down the road. "We don't want what happened to us, to happen to someone else," DiMonte said. "That's why you do these things. You don't get money or accolades. You just don't want to see it happen to another family."

It's critical that the recommendations are implemented and upheld, DiMonte said.

In the case of the Cutchogue crash, DiMonte said litigation is ongoing and the fight for justice continues. "We have vowed that no one on the North Fork will ever forget what happened that day," she said.

DiMonte also urged Hochul to sign the Grieving Families Act, which Kurt Kiess, who lost his son Ryan in a July 2020 head-on crash in Quogue that killed five, also worked tirelessly to see come to fruition. Hochul vetoed that bill.

" We’re very disappointed," DiMonte said, adding that New York is only one of three states in the nation not to have legislation signed into law.

In 2018, the lane at the entrance to Smithtown High School West, known as LABS Lane, was dedicated in tribute to the girls.

"You see these eight beautiful babies? The way I'm leaving them with you, I want them back." Those were the heartbreaking words Felicia Baruch uttered to limo driver Carlos Pino before the Cutchogue crash.

The words were revealed as part of a 156-page New York Supreme Court Suffolk County Special Grand Jury Report in 2016, with recommendations discussed at a press conference convened by then-Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota.

The limousine, driven by Pino and owned by Ultimate Class Limousine, Inc., was transporting the eight young women touring local wineries on July 18, 2015, Spota said; at approximately 5:11 p.m, the limo, while making a U-turn at the intersection of Route 48 and Depot Lane in Cutchogue, was broadsided by a pickup truck driven by Steven Romeo.

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, Carlos Pino, was charged with criminally negligent homicide, failure to yield the right of way and other charges in an indictment but Justice Fernando Camacho dismissed the indictment.