3 killed in DWI crash near catering hall in New Hyde Park; driver charged, Nassau police say

Three women were killed in a crash late Saturday outside a New Hyde Park catering venue on Jericho Turnpike, and a driver was charged with drunken driving and vehicular manslaughter, Nassau police said.

Detectives responded to the fatal collision just after 11 p.m. on Saturday, according to Nassau police. Dante Lennon, who was driving a 2012 Mercedes-Benz sedan, allegedly struck the 2010 Lincoln Town Car with six occupants in the eastbound lane in front of 214 Jericho Tpke., the address of The Inn at New Hyde Park. 

The three passengers in the backseat were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The driver and remaining passengers of the Lincoln were taken to local hospitals and are listed under stable condition.

Lennon, 22, of Freeport, was charged with three counts of vehicular manslaughter, vehicular assault and driving while intoxicated, according to law enforcement.

Police have scheduled a news conference for Monday afternoon to discuss the fatal crash and release additional information. Lennon, hospitalized with nonlife-threatening injuries, could not appear for arraignment Sunday, according to a spokesman for the Nassau County District Attorney's Office.

Michael McCutchen, a security guard at The Inn who opened the door for the guests and saw them walk out Saturday night, said he heard the crash from the hallway of the venue.

“It sounded like a bomb went off,” he said Sunday. “ … He just went right through them."

Witnessing the aftermath of the crash jolted McCutchen.

“You were just with them five minutes before,” he said.

A manager at The Inn at New Hyde Park declined to comment Sunday afternoon. 

The crash was so loud that it woke up Anita McCallum, who lives close to the scene of the accident, in a house at the corner of Jericho Turnpike and Third Street. McCallum, who said she has lived at the home for 83 years, was asleep at the time of the crash. 

“I was in bed, and I heard this big bang,” she said Sunday morning. “I didn’t even hear a car screech. Just a loud bang.”

The investigation is ongoing.