Earlier this month, Scarsdale native Melissa Angela Crai, 23, was travelling in a limo with seven friends to a vineyard when a pickup truck driver, Steven Romeo, 55, collided with the vehicle in Cutchogue, taking four lives and severely injuring six others, including himself.
Romeo was arraigned on driving while intoxicated charges in his hospital bed following the incident. When he was arraigned, he pleaded not guilty and faced a $1 million bond, which was later reduced to $50,000 cash or $100,000 bond when tests – conducted nearly two hours after the accident – showed the driver’s blood alcohol content to be .066 - under the legal limit - though according to reports, it is believed that he was above the limit at the time of the accident.
According to reports, Romeo had been busy doing work around the house while he drank beer before getting in his pickup and colliding with the limo, which had been attempting a U-turn on County Road 48.
As a result of this fatal crash – as well as a second drunk driving incident in Bay Shore a week before – Long Island members of Mothers Against Drunk Driving are holding a “Candlelight Vigil for Our Girls” on Wednesday to “show support for those who’ve been impacted, and to raise awareness about MADD’s free victim services.
The vigil is expected to begin at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Smithtown High School West at 100 Central Road. MADD National President Colleen Sheehey-Church is expected to be joined by several local officials, representatives from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Office and Senator Chuck Schumer.
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