DA: 2 years later, no safety upgrades at fatal limo crash site

<p>Nearly two years later, few, if any, safety changes have been made at the crash site where four young women died and four others were injured in a limousine crash on the East End.</p>

News 12 Staff

Jul 14, 2017, 7:37 PM

Updated 2,486 days ago

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Nearly two years later, few, if any, safety changes have been made at the crash site where four young women died and four others were injured in a limousine crash on the East End.
It was July 18, 2015 when the stretch limo made a U-turn at Depot Lane and County Road 48 in Cutchogue. It was then virtually cut in half by a pickup truck. 
After the crash, a grand jury was convened. They charged the limo driver with criminally negligent homicide and made a half-dozen safety recommendations – including installing a left turn green arrow and prohibiting U-turns. 
District Attorney Tom Spota says other than installing a traffic light, the county has done nothing to improve safety.
"Not one of those recommendations has ever been followed through. Not one," says Spota. 
News 12 Long Island asked Suffolk Public Works Commissioner Gil Anderson why safety recommendations have not been implemented.  
"As terrible as it is to say, the deaths themselves don't predicate a traffic signal," says Anderson. 
Anderson says more data is needed at the intersection, like traffic volume and total number of accidents. 
Mike Malkush, who witnessed the crash, says he sees limos and buses making U-turns at the crash site all the time. 
"It's just an accident waiting to happen again," he says. 
The pickup truck driver was originally charged with DWI, but later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of driving while ability impaired and was sentenced to probation.
The case against the limo driver was dismissed for inadequate evidence. The district attorney is appealing that decision.


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