Prosecutor Mulling Upgraded Charges In Fatal Limo Crash

Investigators are weighing whether to upgrade charges against the driver of a pickup truck that slammed into a limousine in Long Island wine country over the weekend, leaving four women dead and four others with serious injuries, a prosecutor said Monday.

“This is a very, very ongoing investigation,” Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota told reporters two days after the accident on a four-lane highway on eastern Long Island’s North Fork, which is dotted with vineyards and wineries.

The limo was making a U-turn at an intersection when a truck driven by Steven Romeo broadsided the car full of women. Romeo, a 55-year-old businessman, was arraigned Sunday on a misdemeanor DWI charge.

Spota said Romeo remained at the scene for about 15 minutes and spoke with police before walking away, jumping a fence and walking down an embankment. An officer spotted him and brought him back to the scene.

The prosecutor said it was unclear if Romeo’s actions would be defined legally as leaving the scene. “There’s a lot of variables to that,” Spota said. “Whether he fits within the absolute definition of leaving the scene, at this point it is unclear.”

This article appeared in print on page 5 of the July 21st, 2015 edition of Hamodia.