Families mark five years since daughters were killed in limo crash

Paul Schulman of Smithtown won’t use the word anniversary to describe the date of his daughter’s death.

The day that Brittney Schulman, 23, died —  July 18, 2015 — is a day that brings misery and pain to Schulman and the three other families whose daughters also were killed when the limousine they were riding in was struck by another vehicle on County Route 48 in Cutchogue.

“How would you feel if you’re at work and you get a phone call that tears your heart out of your chest?” Schulman said Thursday, nearly five years after the fatal crash. “Anniversaries are supposed to be something good. I don’t call it an anniversary. ... I call it a day of reckoning.”

Schulman and the families of the other women — Amy Grabina, 23, of Commack, Lauren Baruch, 24, of Smithtown, and Stephanie Belli, 23, of Kings Park — gathered Thursday on a Smithtown street named in honor of their daughters, where they comforted one another and described the pain that never ends.

Joined by the parents of four women who were injured and survived the crash, they tied a purple ribbon around the street sign that bears their daughters’ names while cars and trucks hurtled past on Plymouth Boulevard.

Celebrating an upcoming wedding, eight young women were on an East End winery tour when their limo driver attempted to make a U-turn  from the eastbound lane of Route 48 to the westbound lane. The limo was struck by a pickup truck driven by Steven Romeo of Southold. 

The limo driver, Carlos Pino of Old Westbury, was indicted on criminally negligent homicide charges. The indictment was thrown out in 2016 by State Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho. Camacho said at the time that the U-turn was not illegal and Pino’s actions did not meet the legal definition of criminally negligent homicide.

Romeo pleaded guilty in 2017 to driving while impaired and was sentenced to a 90-day license suspension and fined $500.

Family members said they struggle with bitter memories and unresolved questions.

“We are living through the most devastating tragedy that a parent can imagine — the loss of a child,” said Steven Baruch of East Islip, the father of Lauren Baruch. “In each and every day since, we have relived that tragedy in our minds. It should have never happened. We should have our children here today. … Our lives will never be the same, and we will never be whole again.”

The Baruch and Grabina families have sued the Town of Southold and Suffolk County, alleging they were negligent in failing to make the intersection safe before the crash.

On Thursday, Robert Sullivan, a lawyer for the Baruch family, showed an email from a Southold resident that was sent to town officials three years before the fatal collision. The resident in the email described the potential for a tragic accident similar to the one that killed Grabina, Baruch, Schulman and Belli.

Southold Supervisor Scott Russell said Thursday in an interview that the town had asked the county since 1998 to address safety issues at the intersection. The county installed a traffic signal there after the fatal crash.

“All complaints and comments we receive regarding Route 48 are automatically referred to Suffolk County, which owns the road,” Russell said. “The town has no authority over that road.”

In an email, Suffolk spokesman Derek Poppe declined to comment “due to the pending litigation.”

The Cutchogue crash and a fatal 2018 collision in upstate Schoharie County led to state legislation cracking down on the limousine industry. The bill, signed into law in January by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, requires passenger seat belts, a website where complaints can be reported, drug and alcohol testing for drivers and increased penalties for illegal U-turns.   

Steven Baruch said the law brings a measure of satisfaction but doesn’t heal their wounds.

“We honored our girls by making our world a little bit safer for others,” he said, before choking up as he read the names of his daughter and the women who died with her. “Rest in peace to Lauren, Amy, Brittney and Stephanie. We will never forget.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story gave the wrong date for the July 18, 2015, crash.

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.