By Anthony Rifilato and Kim Meslin
Police say Allison Grimm, 19, of Rockville Centre, was traveling north on Grand Avenue on Sunday, Oct. 5, in a 1997 Acura when, at around 12:40 a.m., her vehicle drifted into the southbound lane and crashed head-on into a 2002 Chrysler.
In Grimm's car were four other passengers, all from Baldwin, and police said some if not all of the girls, who were coming from a friend's house, had been drinking. They were on their way to visit another friend when the accident occurred. Grimm was charged with driving while intoxicated.
In the car with Grimm were Baldwin residents Kristin Ubaghs, 19, Beth Marino, 18, Melissa McConnoll, 20, and Jennifer Ging, 19. All sustained injuries and were taken to local hospitals.
When police and fire officials responded to the scene, they found three of the women trapped inside the car, one lying in the street between the two cars, and Grimm standing over and talking to the woman lying in the street, according to Baldwin Fire Chief Thomas Brown. The fire department used a Hurst tool, or "jaws of life," to cut the three trapped women out of the car. One of the girls was unconscious, said fire officials.
Grimm was transported to South Nassau with leg and chest pain and was released that night. Ubaghs, a passenger in the front seat, was taken to Mercy Hospital, suffering from leg and back pain as well as internal injuries. Marino suffered a fractured pelvis and femur, McConnoll a fractured femur and Ging suffered a pelvic fracture. They were all taken to Nassau University Medical Center. The four passengers' injuries are so severe that all of them have since been transferred to other hospitals for treatment.
"Sadly, they all had similar injuries," said Det. Bill Woolsey. "It seems they have a long way to go."
The driver of the Chrysler, Debra Simonetti, 52, was taken to South Nassau Hospital with chest pain and abrasions to her arms and was released from the emergency room that night.
After slamming into Simonetti's car, Grimm's car careened into two parked cars, causing extensive damage. Both Grimm's and Simonetti's vehicles were impounded for brake tests.
Lt. Andrew Fal of the First Precinct said the accident could have been much worse had the girls not been wearing their seatbelts, which he said most had fastened, including the driver.
This latest accident is one of five that occurred in Baldwin in the course of one week, with three of them involving alcohol, and two of those with underage drivers behind the wheel.
On Wednesday, Oct. 1, New York Jets defensive lineman John Abraham was arrested for DWI after he crashed his 2003 Hummer into a fire hydrant and light pole on Grand Avenue. He has since pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of driving while impaired.
The following day, police and firefighters responded to three separate accidents, one of them suspected to be alcohol-related. At 10:30 p.m., a teen driver struck a car parked in front of a Baldwin Avenue home. The owner of the vehicle is a member of the Baldwin Fire Department. Both cars sustained extensive damage, and the teen-age driver and a teen-age passenger were taken to area hospitals with head, neck and facial injuries. Fire department officials on the scene said that alcohol was found in the teens' car. Police would not say whether anyone was charged in that accident.
Just a half-hour earlier, firefighters had used the jaws of life to cut a driver from a vehicle on Sunrise Highway and Grand Avenue, after a two-car collision. Two people were taken to area hospitals in stable condition. No alcohol was reportedly involved.
And that morning at 8:10 a.m., traffic on Sunrise Highway was backed up for miles after a four-car crash near Chestnut Street. A car was reportedly rear-ended, then hit a Ford Explorer, which rolled over and landed upright. The Explorer was totaled, but all people involved refused medical treatment at the scene, said fire department officials. Alcohol was not a factor in the crash.
Though Fal said that a number of accidents can occur coincidentally, any time alcohol is involved it can contribute to potential tragedies, and noted the severe injuries the four young women sustained.
"It's very serious, especially with those girls," Fal said. "It's pretty tragic. One moment can change everyone's life."
