Woman 6th vic to die in horror on LIE
Speed, roadwork eyed; gov consoles aide kin
A RETIRED dentist became the sixth victim of the tragic threeway car wreck on the Long Island Expressway, authorities said.
Helen Adelson, 71, of Westhampton, L.I., died Monday at Stony Brook University Hospital.
Authorities and witnesses of the deadly crash said that the car driven by Carmelo Pinales, 26, was speeding before it veered across a divider into oncoming traffic on the Long Island Expressway, near Exit 68 in Manorville, shortly after 9:30 a.m. Sunday.
“We’re obviously looking at speed,” Suffolk Chief of Detectives Gerard Gigante told Newsday. “There are people that indicated that the Subaru was passing them and they were driving at or above the speed limit.”
Officials are also examining if construction on the highway contributed to the car wreck.
Among those killed was a former aide to Gov. Cuomo, Scott Martella, 29, as well as 10-year-old Christopher Pinales.
Martella and Helen and Isidore Adelson were in separate cars that were hit by the gray Subaru Outback driven by Pinales, according to officials.
Pinales, his son, Christopher, and sister, Patricia, 27, all died at the scene. Patricia’s 3-year-old daughter and Winnifer Garcia, 21, were injured and remained hospitalized.
Carmelo Pinales’ older brother, Jose Miguel Perez, 27, pleaded Monday with reporters, asking them if they have “any contact who can help us with funeral expenses.”
The grieving family said they did not know how they are going to foot the costly funeral bills.
“It was tragic for the whole family,” Perez added. “I’m heartbroken, there’s no way to explain how we feel in this moment.”
Earlier Monday, Cuomo lauded his former staffer. The governor said he had spoken with Martella’s parents, Stacy and Steve, hours after the accident.
“It is one of the great, great tragedies, and there are no words for it,” Cuomo said. “When I spoke to his parents, literally there are no words. I said, ‘I believe it all happens for a reason. I believe in God. I believe it’s in God’s hands.’ That is the best explanation.”
Cuomo said Martella, who was driving with his fiancée, Shelbi Thurau, 29, “did absolutely nothing wrong” to cause the accident.
“He worked for me for a number of years,” Cuomo said. “This was a really, really beautiful, beautiful young man. He just loved public service. He loved helping people.”
Thurau survived and was treated for nonlife-threatening injuries, police said.