Romeo was earlier involved in another fatal accident.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Four women celebrating a bachelorette party were killed Saturday when an alleged drunken driver plowed his pickup into their limo as it left a vineyard in Cutchogue, New York, police disclosed Sunday.
According to The Suffolk Times, Steven Romeo, 55, has been charged with DWI. He is the co-owner of a local marine contracting company called Romeo Dimon Marine service.
Romeo was also involved in another fatal accident in January 2014, when a bucket fell off a skid-steer loader, operated by Romeo, killed a 30-year-old worker, according to local news station PIX11.
The victims who were killed were Brittany Schulman, 23, and Lauren Baruch, 24, both from Smithtown; Stephanie Belli, 23, of Kings Park; and Amy Grabina, 23, of Commack.
Three of the woman died on impact and another died a short time later at Taconic Bay Hospital. All of the deceased were bridesmaids, reported CBS New York.
Injured in the crash were Joelle Dimonte, 25, of Elwood; Melissa Angela Crai, 23, of Scarsdale; Alicia Arundel, 24, of Setauket; and Olga Lipets, 24, of Brooklyn. The limousine’s driver, Carlos Pino, 58, of Bethpage was also injured.
Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said the driver, 55-year old Steven Romeo, stayed at the scene for 15 minutes, then was seen walking away.
After his pickup truck t-boned the limo, Romero walked about 1,000 feet, climbed over a fence and down an embankment, Spota said. Romero initially kept walking after a police officer told him to stop, but eventually halted and was administered a field sobriety test, reported local ABC affiliate WABC.
Romeo, of Southold, N.Y., pleaded not guilty to driving while intoxicated. He was arraigned on one misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated and ordered held on $500,000 cash bail or $1 million bond. He is to appear in court on July 25, before which the charges are expected to be upgraded.