A horrible accident happened on the North Fork of Long Island on Saturday evening as a pickup truck crashed into a limousine while it was trying to make a U-turn. Of the 8 young women in the limo, four died immediately and the others were severely injured.
All eight women aged between 23 and 24 had actually hired the limo so that they could drink responsibly while touring the area’s wineries, according to officials.
The accident happened at 5:15 pm when the limousine attempted to make an illegal U-turn onto the westbound side of the highway when a red Dodge pickup crashed into the limo. The limo was almost severed in half as the pickup crashed with a tremendous amount of force.
First respondents to the accident declared 3 women to be dead on the spot while the fourth on passed away at the hospital.
Local police initially thought that the victims were maybe bridesmaids who were out on a bachelorette trip to visit the local vineyards. However a family member of one of the surviving women told The Post at Peconic Bay Medical Center that they were not part of any wedding party and were simply good friends who hired a limo to drink safely.
According to Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley, the driver of the pickup who is a resident of North Fork, fled into the woods along the highway after crashing into the limo, leaving its dead and injured passengers on the street.
The police were able to quickly arrest the man and charge him with driving while being intoxicated. However Flately indicated that the driver of the limo was also partly to be blamed for the accident because of the risky and illegal U-turn.
The most seriously injured among the surviving women were taken by helicopter to Stony Brook University Hospital while the remaining victims were taken to Eastern Long Island Hospital and Peconic Bay Medical Center by ambulance.
Police did not reveal the identities of the injured women and the arrested driver of the pickup till Saturday night.
Steven Myers
