By Jacquie Rath
According to police, Morris had picked up five other teens at a club and was headed south on North Village Avenue at 12:30 a.m. when he lost control of the vehicle as he rounded a curve near a gas station just south of Banbury Road. It came to rest just feet from northbound traffic on Peninsula Boulevard, which runs parallel to North Village Avenue at the site of the accident.
Although Morris was not injured in the accident, the five other passengers - one of whom was ejected from the vehicle - were taken to local hospitals. The most seriously injured was Katie Baldwin, 19, of Rockville Centre, who was seated in the back seat of the car and suffered serious head and neck trauma, officials said. She was taken to South Nassau Communities Hospital.
Sarah Rohrs, 18, of South Hempstead, was taken to Mercy Medical Center with head and face lacerations. Justine Santos, 18, of Baldwin, was listed in good condition at Winthrop Hospital, where she was treated for a fractured arm and lacerations. Andrew Violino, 18, of Massapequa Park, was also taken to Mercy Medical Center with a fractured collar bone. Natalie Foresch, who is from California, was listed in serious condition at Nassau University Medical Center with a fractured vertebra.
Morris's vehicle was impounded at the scene for routine safety checks. Alcohol does not appear to have been a factor in the crash, police said.
Morris appeared in Nassau County Court on Jan. 1, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. He was due back in court on Jan. 5.
