Then, as the driver of the limousine they had booked to help keep them safe during a trip to local wineries attempted to make a U-turn on Route 48 and Depot Lane in Cutchogue, the lives of the four friends came to a tragic end Saturday. The crash took the lives of Brittney Schulman, 23, of Smithtown; Lauren Baruch, 24, of Smithtown; Stephanie Belli, 23, of Kings Park; and Amy Grabina, 23, of Commack. Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota and Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley are scheduled to hold a news conference at 12:30 p.m. Monday at the Southhold Town Police Department with updates about the investigation. Police identified their four friends who survived the crash as Joelle M. Dimonte, 25, of Elwood; Alicia Arundel, 24, of Setauket; Olga Lipets, 24, of Brooklyn, and Melissa Angela Crai, 23, of Scarsdale. The limousine driver, 58-year-old Carlos Pino of Bethpage, was treated for non-life threatening injuries at a Suffolk County hospital. One of the last stops the limo took the women to was Vineyard 48, located on the south side of Route 48, just west of Depot Lane. Witnesses on Saturday said Romeo was seen sitting in the back of the pickup right after the wreck, but police said he ran from the crash scene. “It was surreal; it did not look real.” 
 
 Witnessing the tragedy hit home for Ms. Lulfs, who said her father died in a car accident when she was young. Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Elizabeth Miller said additional charges are expected in the case, as Mr. Romeo is currently facing just one misdemeanor drunk driving charge. “At this time we are continuing the investigation and looking at upgrading the charges significantly,” she said, adding that Mr. Romeo is due in Southold Town Justice Court Friday. When asked about the emotional state of his client, defense attorney Dan O’Brien of Nesconset said “It’s a tough, tough situation.” He declined to say where Mr. Romeo was headed at the time of the crash. Ms. Miller said one of the women was “a bride” and that the friends were celebrating “an upcoming event.” 
 
 “I don’t believe it was a bridal party, but they were celebrating,” she said in reference to reports that the women were visiting the North Fork for a bachelorette party. News of the fatal crash led friends and family of the victims to post memories of them on social media. One Commack woman, who asked to be identified only as the mother of one of Ms. Grabina’s friends, said “She was such a vibrant girl.” 
 
 “She tried everything,” the woman said. Miller spoke after the arraignment of pickup truck driver Steven Romeo, 55, of Southold at Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport, where he was admitted after the wreck. Romeo was charged with DWI, a misdemeanor, but ordered held on $500,000 cash bail or $1 million bond. Pino has not been charged with any crime. Neither Romeo, who remained hospitalized, nor his business partner Kris Dimon could be reached for comment. Nothing to say to you.” 
 
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 Top photo: The intersection of Depot Lane and Route 48 in Cutchogue where four women where killed when an alleged drunk driver plowed into the limo they were riding in on Saturday afternoon.
– The truck driver who left a bride-to-be critically injured and killed four of her friends in a horrific car crash yesterday has pleaded not guilty to drunk driving. Steven Romeo, 55, made the plea today from a Long Island hospital bed where he's recovering from injuries sustained in the crash, the New York Times reports. His bail is set at $1 million bond or $500,000 cash. "Right now, we’re continuing the investigation and looking into upgrading the charges significantly," says assistant DA Elizabeth Miller, who adds that the limo driver won't be charged. Meanwhile, Romeo's lawyer denied media reports that Romeo was driving drunk or fled the scene, but said little else. Details are emerging about the accident, in which a bride-to-be and seven of her friends were riding in a limousine just after 5pm on Route 48 in Cutchogue, NY. "I don’t believe it was a bridal party, but they were celebrating," Miller tells the Suffolk Times. The limo was negotiating a U-turn at a crossroad that has two flashing yellow lights going west and east to caution drivers, Newsday reports. That's when Romeo's pickup slammed into the limo with such force that it tore almost totally through the vehicle. An eyewitness says Romeo sat there, bloodied and incoherent, holding a water bottle. Dead in the crash are Lauren Baruch, 24, Stephanie Belli, 23, Amy R. Grabina, 23, and Brittney Schulman, 23. A local boat repairman, Romeo was involved in another fatality last year when a bucket fell off a skid-steer loader he was operating at a construction site, killing a 30-year-old worker—but while citations and fines were issued, Romeo wasn't charged, partly because he hadn't been trained to operate the equipment.