A Greenport man has died from his injuries following a crash at the intersection of Route 48 and Kennys Road in Southold Saturday night, Southold Town police said.

Lawrence Damiani, 84, was turning onto Route 48 shortly after 7 p.m. when he failed to yield the right of way and was struck by another vehicle heading west, police said.

Mr. Damiani and his wife, Janice, 83, were pulled from the car by Southold Fire Department volunteers and airlifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center by a Suffolk Police helicopter. He was pronounced dead a short time later, police said.

The driver of the other vehicle, Muhammad Asjad, 33, of Riverhead was transported by Greenport Rescue to Eastern Long Island Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, police said.

Ms. Damiani’s condition was not immediately known.

CARRIE MILLER PHOTO | Two people were airlifted to Stony Brook Medical Center after crashing into a deer on Route 48 Sunday evening.

A Bohemia couple was airlifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center after the motorcycle they were riding on struck a deer along Route 48 in Peconic at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, according to police and fire officials near the scene.

“They hit a buck,” said Southold Fire Department second assistant chief Jim Rich.

The crash victims, John Simicich III, 49, and his wife, Noreen Simicich, 50, were both wearing helmets at the time of the crash, officials said.

Two police helicopters landed at Cochran Park in Peconic to transport the victims to the hospital.

The crash led to the closure of the westbound side of Route 48 in Peconic Sunday evening, police and fire officials said. The westbound lanes of Route 48 were closed between Bridge and Peconic lanes, where the accident occurred, and the eastbound lanes were also expected to be closed for a brief time during the investigation. Traffic was being diverted up those roads to Route 25.

cmiller@timesreview.com

KEN ALLAN PHOTO | Westbound traffic from Route 48 being diverted up Peconic Lane around 5 p.m. Sunday.

JAMESPORT FIRE DEPARTMENT COURTESY PHOTO

A Mattituck man has been arrested after he was involved in a two-car accident along Main Road in Jamesport where one of the vehicles flipped over and landed “within inches” of a nearby storefront early Sunday, authorities said. Three people, including the arrested man, were injured in the accident; none were seriously hurt.

JAMESPORT FIRE DEPARTMENT COURTESY PHOTO

Mark Palladini, 50, was traveling east on Main Road in Jamesport about 5:15 a.m. Sunday, when he crashed into a Nissan sedan with two men inside, police said.

Mr. Palladini’s 2006 Toyota pickup truck lost a wheel in the collision and flipped over, landing inches from the Grana pizzeria on Main Road.

“It nicked the building but there was no structural damage, thank God,” said Jamesport fire chief Duffy Griffiths. The pickup truck did take out two potted plants and benches that were in front of the restaurant, fire officials said.

Mr. Palladini’s speech was slurred and his breath smelled like alcohol when police interviewed him at the scene, and his eyes were bloodshot and glassy, authorities said. He refused to take a breath test or field sobriety test at the scene and was arrested.

Mr. Griffiths said fire police closed the road for nearly two hours as the department’s rescue squad winched the flipped truck away from the building.

Riverhead ambulance volunteers took all three crash victims to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, police said.

Mr. Palladini was arraigned before Justice Allen Smith Sunday afternoon, led into the courtroom wearing a blue t-shirt, jeans and bright yellow socks with no shoes. Mr. Smith suspended Mr. Palladini’s license because he refused to take a breath test.

Mr. Palladini asked if he could get a license to go to work, but Mr. Smith said that would not likely be possible and warned him not to drive.

“If you do, they’re going to pop you with a felony,” Mr. Smith said.

Mr. Palladini was released on his own recognizance, and walked unsteadily out of the courtroom with assistance from a police officer. He is due back in court on Sept. 17.

psquire@timesreview.com

RACHEL YOUNG PHOTO | A tractor trailer carrying gravel crashed an LIE exit ramp Tuesday, the second 18-wheeler accident that morning.

Just hours after a tractor trailer crashed onto its side at a Long Island Expressway exit ramp, a second tractor trailer has rolled over just a few hundred feet from the first accident site, Riverhead Town police said.

The 18-wheeler hauling a gravel mix was driving on the Exit 73 off-ramp when it tilted and crashed onto its side shortly before noon, police at the scene said.

Riverhead police Sgt. Stephen Palmer said the driver had been driving “a little too fast” and lost control of the trailer.

The road had just been reopened following the earlier crash.

The driver in the second crash suffered non life-threatening injuries and was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment.

Riverhead and Suffolk County police were called to the scene, as well as Riverhead firefighters, who cleaned up fuel that spilled from the truck. Police closed the LIE between Exits 72 and 73 as the scene was cleared. As of 1 p.m., the road was still closed.

The crash was the second tractor trailer rollover accident in less than 12 hours.

In the earlier crash, a tractor trailer carrying groceries for local convenience stories crashed onto its side about 3:45 a.m. after its driver swerved on the same exit ramp to avoid a deer, shutting the road down for seven hours.

No one was seriously hurt in that first crash.

PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | A towing company employee watches on as the overturned tractor trailer is righted at Exit 73 of the LIE Tuesday morning. Hours later, a second tractor trailer would crash in the same spot.

Riverhead Fire Chief Joseph Raynor said the driver and co-driver of the truck were already outside the overturned vehicle by the time fire trucks arrived on the scene.

Both men were taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries and later released, an official for the truck company said.

“They’re very lucky,” the employee said.

The truck had been delivering food and goods to local convenience stores at the time of the crash. The firefighters’ hazmat crew was called to the scene because of bleach that was being transported by the truck.

The contents of the trailer were emptied out and loaded into another truck to allow tow crews to right the 18-wheeler.

The Long Island Expressway was closed between exits 72 and 73 until noon as crews cleaned up the crash scene, complicating the morning commute Tuesday, police said.

SOUTHOLD FIRE DEPARTMENT COURTESY PHOTO | Firefighters survey the scene where a delivery truck smashed into a tree in Southold Saturday morning.

A delivery truck from a Queens bakery smashed into a tree on Route 25 in Southold Saturday, sending the driver to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, authorities said.

Southold Town police said Jose Rivera was driving east on Main Road just after 10 a.m. when he lost control of the truck around a curve in the road. The truck — from Tom Cat Bakery in Long Island City — swerved off the road and collided with a tree on the grounds of St. Patrick’s Church, according to a Southold Fire Department statement.

Mr. Rivera got himself out of the truck before firefighters arrived and was taken by Southold rescue volunteers to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment, the statement reads.

The truck was later pulled from around the tree and towed from the scene, fire officials said.

A 21-year-old driver escaped serious injury but was arrested on drunken driving charges after police say texting caused her to drive off a roadway early Wednesday and crash into four mailboxes and two trees.

Cristina Maria Madison was headed south on Main Bayview Road about 12:30 a.m. and texting when the 2004 Volvo she was driving veered off the road, striking the mailboxes and two “large” trees, Southold Town police said.

Ms. Madison was found to be intoxicated and transported to Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport for treatment, police said.

She was released and held at police headquarters for a court appearance.

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RACHEL YOUNG PHOTO | Police investigate the scene of a fatal accident Thursday morning in Laurel.

A pedestrian was struck and killed in a motor vehicle accident just east of the Riverhead Town line early Thursday morning, police and fire officials confirmed.

Authorities said Riverhead and Southold police were originally called to the scene a few hundred feet east of the Laurel Post Office shortly before 5:45 a.m.

Jamesport Fire Department’s heavy rescue team and the Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps also responded but the scene was turned over to Mattituck’s rescue squad when it was determined that the crash had happened within their jurisdiction, fire officials said.

Two vehicles were involved in the accident, an SUV and a sedan.

At least one victim had become trapped, fire officials said. Southold Police said the pedestrian was jogging on Main Road. The drivers of the two vehicles were not injured, police said.

JOE WERKMEISTER PHOTO | Southold Police deployed its new command van to the scene of Thursday’s accident. It was the first official use of the van.

Mattituck firefighters closed Main Road in both directions while the scene was cleared; the road remained closed for nearly eight hours and reopened around 2 p.m. Southold police deployed its brand new command van for its first official use.

The Suffolk County District Attorney’s office is also on scene to help investigate.

Southold Police Department said it would release more details from the accident shortly.

PHOTO BY DET. EDWARD GRATHWOHL | This car flipped into Broadwaters Creek Sunday morning.

A 24-year-old Westhampton woman escaped uninjured Sunday morning after her car skidded on an icy patch, turned over and became partially submerged in Broadwaters Creek at Nassau Point, Southold Town Police said in a press release.

The woman was able to exit her 2009 Honda safely and walk to a neighbor’s house for help, police said.

The incident occurred shortly after 8 a.m., police said.

An 85-year-old New York City man caused a scene at the North Ferry terminal in Greenport Saturday when he accidentally stepped on the gas instead of the brake after boarding the Manhansett, Southold Town Police said.

The man’s 2006 Cadillac struck the forward metal gunwale of the boat, turning it sideways and forcing the rear bumper to strike another vehicle already parked on the ferry shortly before 6 p.m., police said.

The Cadillac sustained major damage and had to be towed off the ferry boat and both the driver and passenger were taken by Greenport Rescue to ELIH for treatment of injuries, police said..

The ferry boat also sustained damage and had to be taken out of commission until repairs could be made, police said.

Suffolk Times file photo

PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | The driver and passenger in this SUV were unharmed after it flipped on Sound Avenue Tuesday evening.

An SUV hit a snowy patch of road in Mattituck and crashed off the road, flipping onto its roof Tuesday evening, fire officials said.

The driver and female passenger of the car both escaped without serious injury.

The vehicle was westbound on Sound Avenue when it skidded and rolled off the road about 5 p.m. across the street from Macari Vineyard, fire officials said. Southold police and Mattituck firefighters and rescue teams were called to the scene, and found that the driver was unhurt.

The woman did not complain of any injuries, but was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center for observation, said assistant fire chief James Rugnetta.

Sound Avenue was closed between Bergen Avenue and Cox Neck Road as the crashed SUV was towed from the scene and town crews plowed and salted the road.

psquire@timesreview.com

Southold Town police investigate the scene of Thursday morning’s crash. (Credit: Paul Squire)

A St. James motorcyclist suffered “serious” injuries after he was struck by a sedan that drove in his path on Route 48 in Mattituck Thursday morning, Southold Town police said.

He was airlifted to Stony Brook University hospital. An update on his condition was not immediately available.

The crash happened just after 10:30 a.m. at the intersection of Route 48 and Wickham Avenue, where Lucretia Kramer, 85, of Mattituck — who was headed west in a 1999 Oldsmobile on Route 48 — attempted to make a left turn onto Wickham Avenue, according to a police report.

At the same time, 56-year-old Patrick Lonergan was riding his 2013 Harley Davidson motorcycle eastbound, police said. Ms. Kramer failed to yield for the motorcyclist and crashed into him in the eastbound lane, police said.

The motorcycle ended up pinned between the car and a utility police at the intersection’s southeast corner.

Fire police closed Route 48 eastbound and Wickham Avenue northbound past Hill Street as police and EMTs raced to the scene.

Mr. Lonergan was treated by Mattituck Fire Department rescue volunteers and taken by county police helicopter to the hospital.

Ms. Kramer and her passenger, 71-year-old Barbara Judge of Brooklyn, were taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center by Mattituck and Cutchogue ambulances after they complained of neck pain, authorities said.

Ms. Kramer will be issued traffic violations for failing to yield the right of way and violating restrictions on her driver’s license. Police would not say what the restrictions on her license were.

Both vehicles were impounded and Southold police are still investigating the crash.

psquire@timesreview.com

Emergency crews on the scene of a 10:30 a.m. crash in Mattituck Thursday. (Credit: Paul Squire)

Cutchogue Fire department volunteers were called to the scene of an overturned vehicle on Route 48 Monday afternoon (Credit: Paul Squire)

A driver of a rental truck was hospitalized Monday afternoon when the rental truck he was driving flipped on Route 48, Cutchogue fire officials said. 

Cutchogue Fire Department Chief Antone Berkoski said a rental box truck riding on worn tires hit an ice patch east of Bridge Lane, causing it to skid, hit a dirt pile, run over a tree and flip onto its side.

The driver became trapped inside, Chief Berkoski said.

Fire department volunteers cut open the top of the truck cab to free the driver, who remained conscious for the duration of the rescue, he said.

“He’s pretty bruised up,” Chief Berkoski said of the driver, adding that the victim suffered back injuries that didn’t appear to be life threatening. A police statement later described his injuries as “minor.”

The driver was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment.

cmiller@timesreview.com

A Southold man was charged with DWI leaving the scene after he drove away from a crash on Front Street in Greenport early Monday morning, Southold Town police said. 

Joseph Flyte, 32,  was involved in the crash shortly before 5 a.m., police said. He then headed west and was stopped in Southold, police said.

He was arrested and held for arraignment, police said.

The scene of a crash at the end of Route 25 on Thursday morning. (Credit: Paul Squire)

A 30-year-old mother was killed after driving off a private road in Orient and crashing just after midnight Thursday, Southold Town police said.

The woman’s 18-month-old daughter was in the car and survived unharmed, according to a police news release.

Police say Jacquelyn Carvo of Farmingdale crashed off Point Road about 12:25 a.m., striking “several small trees and a utility pole.” Police and Orient firefighters rushed to the crash site within minutes, but Ms. Carvo had died of her injuries at the scene, police said.

The last ferry ran out of Orient ran at 7:30 p.m. last night.

According to Southold Police Chief Martin Flatley, it appeared that Ms. Carvo kept driving straight at the end of Route 25, where a sharp right turn leads to the Orient Point ferry. Why she was making the trip out there, though, remains unknown at this point.

“It looks like maybe she was unfamiliar with the roadway, and she just ran out of pavement and went into the woods,” Chief Flatley said.

Little evidence that a fatal crash occurred there the night before were evident on Thursday morning: a reporter saw no visible signs of braking at the end of Route 25 and little brush seemed to be disturbed in the area. However, a utility pole about 100 feet into the woods was damaged from the crash.

Chief Flatley said there was “significant damage” to the driver’s side of the vehicle.

The victim’s daughter had been secured in a child safety seat, police said. The child was taken to Eastern Long Island Hospital, where she was evaluated and found to be unhurt, police said.

Police said they have notified Ms. Carvo’s family members.

The Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office was called to the scene to help investigate, according to the news release. Her vehicle was impounded by police for a safety check and the cause the accident is still under investigation, police said.

The chief said drug and alcohol levels would be determined during an autopsy.

psquire@timesreview.com

Update, 9:55 a.m.: This story has been updated with remarks from Southold Police Chief Martin Flatley.

With Joseph Pinciaro

The scene Sunday morning near where a Laurel man was injured in a crash on Route 48 in Laurel. (Credit: Grant Parpan)

A Laurel man is being treated for “traumatic injuries” after his Jeep overturned several times in a crash along Route 48 in Peconic early Sunday morning, Southold Town police said. 

Adam Bishop, 33, was operating a 1993 Jeep Wrangler westbound shortly after midnight when the vehicle left the roadway for unknown reasons, entered the median and overturned several times, police said.

The crash occurred about 500 feet west of Cabots Woods Lane, police said.

Mr. Bishop was treated at the scene by Southold Fire Department rescue for multiple traumatic injuries and flown to Stony Brook University Hospital by a Suffolk County police helicopter, town police said.

The jeep was impounded for safety checks.

A Greenport man was charged with felony DWI Saturday night after he was involved in a crash in Mattituck, Southold Town Police said. 

Kurt Schmalz, 44, was involved in a motor vehicle accident at the corner of Main Road and Factory Avenue about 8:30 a.m., police said. Additional details about the crash were not disclosed.

He was arrested after he was found to be intoxicated, police said. He was held overnight at police headquarters for arraignment.

The accident scene Monday night. (Credit: Jen Nuzzo)

Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell walked away unharmed from a single-car crash in Cutchogue Monday night after his town-owned vehicle flipped on its side and skidded into a marsh, town police said.

Mr. Russell, 50, of Cutchogue, was driving alone and headed south on Skunk Lane near Haywaters Drive when his 2014 Ford Escape slid off the road, “rolled and came to a rest on the driver’s side” at around 9:30 p.m., according to a Southold Town police press release. It had been raining earlier that day.

Reached by telephone Tuesday morning, Mr. Russell said he was feeling OK. He said he was on his way home after picking up medicine for his son when the accident occurred.

Mr. Russell said this is the first time he has been at fault in an accident since he began driving a town-owned vehicle 10 years ago. He has been involved in three accidents in town-owned vehicles since 2012, records show.

Southold Town Police Lt. James Ginas said at the scene that he believes the day’s heavy rainfall kicked a lot of gravel onto the roadway, contributing to the accident. The police press release states Mr. Russell “reported sliding on wet leaves.” The accident occurred on a bend in the road, where the posted speed limit is just 20 mph.

A portion of Skunk Lane remained closed for about an hour after the crash.

Mr. Russell exited the vehicle on his own before the Cutchogue Fire Department arrived on the scene, police said. He was escorted home by a police officer, he said. The police report states that the damage to the SUV exceeded $1,000.

Lt.  Ginas said no alcohol was involved in the crash and no charges were filed.

A town highway crew was on the scene the next morning to remove debris from the site. Highway Superintendent Vincent Orlando said the crew was responding to a call from a Skunk Lane resident who asked that a tree damaged in the incident be removed. The resident confirmed the call.

jnuzzo@timesreview.com

A Southold Town highway crew arrives at the site of the accident at 11 a.m. Tuesday. (Credit: Grant Parpan)

An Aquebogue man pleaded guilty yesterday to driving under the influence of crystal meth just over two years after he was involved in a car crash in Nassau County that killed two men on the side of the road next to their broken down car.

Robert Beodeker, 52, took a plea deal admitting to aggravated vehicular homicide and driving under the influence of drugs, according to his attorney, Dana Grossblatt.

On March 4, 2013, Mr. Beodeker was driving his pickup around 12:40 p.m. on the Meadowbrook Parkway when he crashed into a disabled Nissan Maxima and two pedestrians who were tending to the car. The pedestrians, John Elder, 76, of Freeport and Edward Ross, 65, of North Bellmore died at the scene.

Mr. Beodeker originally pleaded not guilty as he faced charges of negligent homicide and second-degree manslaughter and up to 25 years in prison.

Ms. Grossblatt said on Tuesday that she replaced Mr. Boedeker’s previous attorney, Robert Wool, about 10 months ago. She said Mr. Beodeker took a plea to “spare the family from a drawn-out trial.”

Mr. Beodeker had been working as an associate dean of student services at Suffolk County Community College before the crash, and is well-known in the North Fork community arts scene.

Nassau County acting district attorney Madeline Singas provided the following statement: “These innocent men, John Elder and Edward Ross, were killed because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and found themselves in the path of a driver impaired by crystal methamphetamine at lunchtime on a clear day. It is also disturbing that the defendant was impaired on his way to work as a college administrator.”

Mr. Beodeker now faces a sentence of 4 to 12 years, Ms. Grossblatt said. A formal sentencing hearing will take place on May 18.

jpinciaro@timesreview.com

(Credit: Google Maps)

A 34-year-old Greenport boat captain and one of his two passengers were injured Sunday afternoon after the man’s pleasure boat ran aground in Shinnecock Bay, Southampton Town police said.

Authorities said the 40-foot vessel “Satisfactory” ran aground on a sandbar about 6:30 p.m., causing injuries to the people aboard the ship. Captain Gregory Nissen was taken to Southampton Hospital by Hampton Bays ambulance volunteers for treatment of a “possible head injury,” according to a police press release.

One of the passengers, 28-year-old Gregory Soros of Shelter Island, was also injured and reportedly lost consciousness during the crash. He was taken to a local hospital for rib and potential head injuries, police said.

A third passenger was uninjured, officials said.

Southampton Town Bay Constables and the U.S. Coast Guard both responded to the scene and removed the crashed boat, police said.

They were all 23 and 24 years old, their whole lives seemingly ahead of them.

They were visiting the North Fork to celebrate a major event in one of their friend’s lives.

Then, as the driver of the limousine they had booked to help keep them safe during a trip to local wineries attempted to make a U-turn on Route 48 and Depot Lane in Cutchogue, the lives of the four friends came to a tragic end Saturday. 

Steve Romeo, 55, of Southold was charged with driving while intoxicated after his pickup truck allegedly t-boned the limousine while traveling west along County Road 48 shortly after 5 p.m.

The crash took the lives of Brittney Schulman, 23, of Smithtown; Lauren Baruch, 24, of Smithtown; Stephanie Belli, 23, of Kings Park; and Amy Grabina, 23, of Commack.

The aftermath of the fatal crash Saturday in Cutchogue. (Credit: AJ Ryan/Stringer News)

Three of the victims died at the scene and the fourth died at Peconic Bay Medical Center, Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley said.

Injured but surviving the crash were four additional passengers: Joelle Dimonti, 25, of Elwood; Melissa Crai, 23, of Scarsdale, N.Y.; Alicia Arundel, 24, of Setauket; and Olga Lipets, 24, of Brooklyn. The limousine driver, 58-year-old Carlos Pino of Bethpage, was treated for non-life threatening injuries at a Suffolk County hospital.

The limo had just left Vineyard 48 and was heading east before Mr. Pino attempted the ill-fated turn.

Fire crews from Cutchogue, Mattituck, East Marion, Greenport, Southold and Jamesport all responded to the scene. Two Suffolk County police helicopters assisted in the rescue, landing directly on Route 48, which remained closed in both directions for several hours. The road was open again by 11:40 p.m.

A Suffolk County police helicopter transports a victim from Saturday’s crash. (Credit: Tim Gannon)

The crash scene was devastating to those with the misfortune to drive past it Saturday.

“As we came around, all we saw were bodies out the left side of the vehicle, hanging out,” said Lynne Lulfs, a Hampton Bays woman who witnessed the crash. “It was surreal; it did not look real.”

Witnessing the tragedy hit home for Ms. Lulfs, who said her father died in a car accident when she was young.

“This will resonate with us forever,” she said.

Fire crews on scene of Saturday’s crash. (Credit: Tim Gannon)

People who live near the intersection said it’s a frequent spot for crashes. Ruth Urwand, who lives on Depot Lane, said she believes a regular stoplight should replace the blinking light that’s currently there.

Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Elizabeth Miller said additional charges are expected in the case, as Mr. Romeo is currently facing just one misdemeanor drunk driving charge.

“At this time we are continuing the investigation and looking at upgrading the charges significantly,” she said, adding that Mr. Romeo is due in Southold Town Justice Court Friday.

When asked about the emotional state of his client, defense attorney Dan O’Brien of Nesconset said “It’s a tough, tough situation.” He declined to say where Mr. Romeo was headed at the time of the crash.

Ms. Miller said one of the women was “a bride” and that the friends were celebrating “an upcoming event.”

“I don’t believe it was a bridal party, but they were celebrating,” she said in reference to reports that the women were visiting the North Fork for a bachelorette party.

News of the fatal crash led friends and family of the victims to post memories of them on social media.

An anguished man who answered the phone at Ms. Baruch’s house Sunday afternoon declined to comment, saying only that he couldn’t talk.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

Left: Amy Grabina, Lauren Baruch, Stephanie Belli (top right) and Brittney Schulman. (Credit: Facebook)

One Commack woman, who asked to be identified only as the mother of one of Ms. Grabina’s friends, said “She was such a vibrant girl.”

“She tried everything,” the woman said. “She was young — a young girl. I can’t even imagine what her parents are going through right now.”

According to her Facebook profile, Ms. Grabina graduated from Florida State University in 2014 and had been hired less than a month ago as a staff accountant at New York City firm Ernst & Young.

Steve Romeo in a Romeo Dimon Marine profile published in The Suffolk Times in 2010. (Credit: Courtesy)

Mr. Romeo pleaded not guilty at his bedside arraignment at Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport, where he is being treated for non-life threatening injuries. Southold Town Justice Rudolph Bruer set bail at $500,000 cash or $1 million bond.

The Southold businessman was previously involved in a fatal accident in January 2014 at a construction site in Mattituck, where a 30-year-old worker was struck in the head and killed by a bucket that fell off of a skid-steer loader being operated by Mr. Romeo. He was not charged in that incident, but the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations and fined the business, in part because Mr. Romeo had not been trained to use the equipment he was operating.

Southold Town police Chief Martin Flatley leads detectives into Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport for the arraignment of Steve Romeo Sunday afternoon. (Credit: Vera Chinese)

A wrongful death suit filed by the worker’s family against Romeo Dimon Marine and the owner of the construction site is pending in New York State Supreme Court, online court records show.

A representative from Romeo Dimon Marine’s Southold office declined to comment on the fatal crash Sunday morning.

“It’s a private matter,” he told a Suffolk Times reporter, declining to identify himself. “It has nothing to do with business. I have no comment. Nothing to say to you.”

gparpan@timesreview.com

Top photo: The intersection of Depot Lane and Route 48 in Cutchogue where four women where killed when an alleged drunk driver plowed into the limo they were riding in on Saturday afternoon. (Credit: Vera Chinese)