The limo driver involved in a crash that killed four young women in Long Island’s wine country a year ago faces criminal charges in the horrific accident, sources said.
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The chauffeur, 58-year-old Carlos Pino from Long Island, New York, was indicted Wednesday by a special grand jury investigating last year’s fatal limousine crash in Cutchogue that claimed the lives of four young woman. He says Pino is exclusively responsible for the crash. An intoxicated Steven Romeo could not avoid this crash.
Carlos Pino has been charged with four counts of criminally negligent…
Eight friends were in the limousine after touring local wineries on July 18 when authorities said a pickup truck slammed into the limo, which was making a U-turn on Route 48 in Cutchogue at the time. “An intoxicated Steven Romeo could not avoid this crash”.
Romeo’s attorney said his client maintains he is innocent of the drunken driving charges and is gratified that the grand jury found he wasn’t responsible for the crash. He continued to attempt to make his turns without stopping, without looking and not seeing either Romeo’s vehicle or the Jeep Liberty, which was right in front of him’.
Brittney Schulman, 23, Lauren Baruch, 24, Stephanie Belli, 23, and Amy Grabina, 23, were killed in the accident, the New York Post reported.
However, according to Spota, Pino did not take any extra precautions to make sure he could safely make a U-turn even after noticing he has limited sight into opposite traffic, CBS2 reported. However, Spota said at the time of the crash, his BAC would “likely have been over.08”, and the original charge stood. “It was simply unavoidable from Romeo’s perspective”, Spota told CBS2. Four other women in the limo, all in their 20s, were injured.
Left: Amy Grabina, Lauren Baruch, Stephanie Belli (top) and Brittney Schulman. “There is no evidence that demonstrates he ever came to a stop”, Spota said.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Pino had an attorney who could comment on the allegations.
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Of note, a report via the nydailynews notes one of the surviving victims, Olga Lipets, 24, has an ongoing lawsuit against Pino, Romeo and the limo company.
