NORTH FORK, NY — The families of the girls who died and the survivors who were gravely injured in a 2o15 limo crash have received a $6.1 million settlement, an attorney told Patch Friday — but according to those left behind, no financial compensation can ever ease the ache of grief that still hangs heavy over all their lives.
According to Robert Sullivan, who represented the family of Lauren Baruch, 24, of Smithown, who died in the crash, the settlement for the civil suit comprised a total of $6.1 million.
Brittney Schulman, 23, and Lauren Baruch, 24, both of Smithtown, Stephanie Belli, 23, of Kings Park, and Amy Grabina, 23, of Commack, all lost their lives. Injured in the crash were Joelle M. DiMonte, 25, of Ellwood, Melissa Angela Crai, 23, of Scarsdale, Alicia Arundel, 24, of Setauket, and Olga Lipets, 24, of Brooklyn.
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"Money can never make up for this tragic loss," Nancy DiMonte, Joelle's mother, told Patch. "It has been a long road and we have not recovered emotionally. Some still suffer physically, some with PTSD, and we still need to know why this happened. Roads are unsafe and not on the radar, as they should be."
Despite the financial settlement, DiMonte said: "I am still upset that we never learned about why this happened. Recovery from this senseless tragedy is not going to come easy. It's been uphill for too long."
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The limousine, driven by Carlos Pino and owned by Ultimate Class Limousine, Inc., was transporting the eight young women touring local wineries on July 18, 2015, then-DA Tom Spota said; at approximately 5:11 p.m, the limo, while making a U-turn at the intersection of Route 48 and Depot Lane in Cutchogue, was broadsided by a pickup truck driven by Steven Romeo.
Romeo pleaded guilty to driving while ability impaired by alcohol, a traffic infraction, in 2017. The limo driver, Carlos Pino, 58, of Bethpage, was charged with criminally negligent homicide, failure to yield the right of way and other charges in an indictment but Justice Fernando Camacho dismissed the indictment.
Sullivan, speaking with Patch, explained the breakdown of the settlement: The largest sum is to be paid by the company that made the limo — $4 million — with Ultimate Class Limousine, Inc., and Pino to pay $1.5 million; Steve Romeo slated to pay $500,000; and Southold Town, $100,000, he said.
Attorneys for Romeo, Ultimate Class Limousine, Pino, and the limo manufacturer could not immediately be reached for comment.
Sullivan, who lives in Southold Town, said in his opinion, the town did not listen to warning signals from residents in the months before the crash: "The Southold Town board could not have cared less about the death of those four girls," he said.
He referenced the times Cutchogue resident Bill Shipman had come before the board in the months and years before the crash to publicly ask for help with the issues posed by Vineyard 48 — which has since closed — including traffic, dangerous U turns by limos, public urination, and other quality of life concerns.
"I've been complaining about this for almost four years," Shipman said in 2016, after the crash. "You tell me what I’m supposed to do. I stopped complaining — and the tragedy happened."
Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell told Patch he would comment after he'd had a chance to discuss the issue with the town attorney.
The eight girls had just left Vineyard 48 when the horrific crash took place. Residents crying out for change said the limos leaving the winery at the time were too large for the U-turns they made Depot Lane in order to head west on Route 48.
Sullivan also said due to the fact that Gov. Kathy Hochul has not yet signed the Grieving Families Act bill — which would bring equity to those who have lost loved ones in wrongful death cases — the families whose girls survived the crash actually received more in the settlement than the families of the girls who died.
Newsday detailed the breakdown of how much each family would receive; the estates of the girls who died would receive about $560,000, minus legal fees; of the surviving girls, Arundel and Lipets were slated to receive $1.1 million each, and DiMonte and Crai, $821,670, according to the Newsday report.
DiMonte told Patch she was unable to speak about the settlement amounts.
Paul Shulman, who lost his daughter Brittney in the crash, also spoke with Patch Friday. "It's been eight-and-a-half years, and we have no accountability, we have no answers."
Of the settlement, he said: "No amount of money could ever satisfy us, or bring any of them back."
He added that road safety in Suffolk County remains of critical concern.
And he, too, said he wished "the person that sits in the highest position" in New York State would sign the Grieving Families Act so that those who've lost loved ones to wrongful death could see equity.
Reflecting on the day of the crash, he said: "We have more questions now, eight-and-a-half years later, about what happened, than we have answers. We have no answers."
For all who survived the unthinkable, safety is an issue they are striving tirelessly to spotlight.
July marked eight years since the four young women died, and four others sustained devastating injuries, in the horrific Cutchogue limo crash — and the parents who lost their daughters are fearful that the same thing could all too easily happen again.
DiMonte has spoken with Patch in past months about concerns voiced by the parents. With marijuana dispensaries looming in the future on Long Island, DiMonte said there are not enough regulations in place to prevent tragedy.
And, with the fall harvest season, there are many heading east with limousines playing a central part in the festivities.
"It's been eight years now, and on behalf of the eight families, we want to remind people that safety is the utmost concern," DiMonte said; Paul Schulman, father of Brittney Schulman who died in the limo crash in 2015, also echoed those fears.
But, most important, she added: "We're just very focused on making sure this does not happen to anyone else. This is the season. We weren't the first— and we're not going to be the last."
Although safety reforms were embraced last year, something for which the families are grateful, there is still work to be done, DiMonte said.
There is still no green turning arrow at County Road 48 and Depot Lane, where the crash took place, she reminded.
Suffolk County, which has jurisdiction over the roadway, has not implemented that change. "The families agree there should be a green turning arrow," DiMonte said. "It's a very busy road."
Traffic on the North Fork has increased dramatically since the pandemic, DiMonte noted — sparking even greater concerns in times of heavy traffic.
"Nothing's changed," she said. "We want people to have a good time, but they have to be very careful, aware of their surroundings."
DiMonte and others have advocated for a pre-trip tutorial that would be given to those readying to ride in a limousine, so that they know where the safety features are; she voted for the measure as a member of New York's Stretch Limousine Passenger Safety Task Force, and it passed, she said.
"Before that thing takes off, ask for a pre-trip tutorial," she said. "It could save your life."
There are features many are unaware of, DiMonte said. For example, there's a tool in the limo that cracks the glass if passengers are trapped and cannot get out. "We didn't know that when our girls were setting out," she said, adding that she learned about the feature while on the task force.
Also, she added, passengers should ask to see the driver's license and find out if the limo was recently inspected.
"Paul Shulman and I are speaking on behalf of all New Yorkers," DiMonte said. "This year marks eight years. It's very, very painful. And with the season upon us, and the town booming, we just want everyone to be safe."
Last year, DiMonte, said the state's limousine task force had completed its mission and put forth new recommendations, with the next step including them being signed into law by Hochul.
With 154 pages of recommendations, some of the key points that need to be addressed, DiMonte told Patch, include removing limos from the road that are more than 10 years old or have driven 350,000 miles; more stringent inspection of equipment; augmented driver training and driver drug testing; pre-trip safety training for limo passengers; and enhanced side panel protection.
In 2020, after years of advocating tirelessly for change, parents applauded comprehensive limousine reforms agreed upon by both the Senate and Assembly.
Now, with new recommendations moving ahead, DiMonte said the push for safety has resulted in concrete change.
DiMonte also urged Hochul to sign the Grieving Families Act.
"We’re very disappointed," that Hochul hasn't yet signed the bill into law, DiMonte said, adding that New York is only one of three states in the nation not to have legislation signed into law.
In 2018, the lane at the entrance to Smithtown High School West, known as LABS Lane, was dedicated in tribute to the girls.
"You see these eight beautiful babies? The way I'm leaving them with you, I want them back."
Those were the heartbreaking words Felicia Baruch uttered to limo driver Carlos Pino before the Cutchogue crash.
The words were revealed as part of a 156-page New York Supreme Court Suffolk County Special Grand Jury Report in 2016, with recommendations discussed at a press conference convened by then-Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota.
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