Limited Release of Grand Jury Minutes For Attorneys Representing Limo Driver in Deadly Route 48 Crash: DA

NORTH FORK, NY - In an unprecedented move, New York State Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho ruled Tuesday that there would be a limited release of grand jury minutes for review by defense attorneys representing the limousine driver indicted in March for allegedly causing last year's deadly Cutchogue limo crash that left four young women dead, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said.

Justice Fernando Camacho, at a court conference for limo driver Carlos F. Pino of Old Bethpage, said allowing the defense to review the grand jury testimony of eyewitnesses and a person who worked on the crash reconstruction would give them an opportunity to cite testimony instead of relying on assumptions in defending their client.

Pino, 59, pleaded not guilty in March after he was charged with four counts of criminally negligent homicide, four counts of assault, failure to yield the right of way, reckless driving and other traffic law infractions, Spota said.

The driver of the pickup truck that hit the limousine, Steven Romeo of Peconic, was charged with driving while intoxicated and driving while impaired, Spota said.

Citing the data from the reconstruction of the crash, and witness accounts, Spota said at a press conference in March that the crash was unavoidable for Romeo because reconstruction established he could not see the limousine enter the intersection until he was 200 feet away.

DA Spota said Romeo would have needed 263 feet to stop or miss hitting the limousine.

"If perfectly sober, Steven Romeo could not have avoided this crash. If intoxicated, Steven Romeo could not have avoided this crash," Spota said. "It was simply unavoidable from Romeo's perspective."

Justice Camacho said Tuesday that after reviewing the minutes of the grand jury investigation, he found that the grand jurors were properly instructed about a 2006 court of appeals case that dismissed a criminally negligent homicide charge against the driver of a Lincoln Town Car involved in a fatal Brooklyn crash. Defense lawyers last month filed a motion to dismiss the charges against Pino based on the Brooklyn case, he said.

In announcing Pino’s indictment earlier this year, Spota said the limousine driver “failed to take any precaution or any action to make sure he could safely enter the westbound travel lanes” of Route 48.

What began as a day out enjoying a beautiful North Fork day of wine tasting, with stops including Vineyard 48 in Cutchogue, turned into unspeakable tragedy when their limo was T-boned by a pickup truck. 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 accident were Joelle M. Dimonte, 25, of Ellwood, Melissa Angela Crai, 23, of Scarsdale, Alicia Arundel, 24, of Setauket, and Olga Lipets, 24, of Brooklyn.

July 18 will mark one year since the horrific tragedy, arguably the worst the North Fork has ever seen, and one that has residents crying out for answers, including a green directional arrow at the newly installed traffic signal on County Road 48 and Depot Lane, where the accident took place, and what they say is a critical need for enhanced police enforcement at the site.

The county has said there are no plans for the green directional arrow at this point and the town says, while additional police officers have been allocated to Route 48, dangers exist at intersections across Southold Town.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story had July 19 as the day of the crash, a typo.