By Alex Davidson
A Woodhaven man’s sister, grandfather and mother were killed Monday night in a midnight DWI crash on the Long Island Expressway after he slowed or stopped the car during a trip back to Queens from a Long Island wedding, police said.
The car driven by Luis Ramirez, 20, of 87-44 86th St. in Woodhaven was hit from behind and Suffolk County police later charged him with driving while intoxicated.
Ramirez was driving a 1991 Toyota westbound in the center lane in Dix Hills when his car got a flat tire, a Suffolk County police second squad detective said in a statement.
Ramirez was slowing or stopping the car, the police said, when a 1998 Ford pickup, driven by Joshua VonBlume, 22, of Wantagh, L.I. crashed into the rear of the Toyota. VonBlume, who was not injured, was released.
Ramirez was arraigned Monday afternoon in First District Court in Central Islip and charged with driving while intoxicated. He was released on $2,500 bail, a spokesman for the Suffolk County district attorney’s office said.
The spokesman said Ramirez, who pleaded not guilty to the DWI charge, was due back in court Friday.
Fiorella Ramirez, 12, Luis’ sister, and Ernesto Villavincio, 83, his grandfather, were pronounced dead on the scene by medical officials. His mother, Cecilia Ramirez, 40, was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip where she was later pronounced dead by hospital officials.
Fiorella and Cecilia had recently moved to Florida and came back to New York for a cousin’s wedding.
Luis’ girlfriend, Laurie Luna, 19, of 76-23 85th St. in Woodhaven, was also transported to Good Samaritan where, as of Tuesday afternoon, she was still listed in critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Toxicology results taken from Ramirez after the crash to analyze his blood alcohol level will be available later this week, a police spokesman said. He said the test results from the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the future of Ramirez’s case and charges.
Luis Ramirez was transported to the University Hospital in Stony Brook where he was treated and released.
Detective Sgt. Richard Auspaker of the Suffolk police said a separate accident, which occurred 20 or 30 minutes earlier involving a tractor-trailer crashing into the median, resulted in concrete and metal bits spilling onto the freeway that may have caused Ramirez’s flat tire.
He said police are currently performing safety inspections on the two cars as part of the ongoing investigation.
Reach reporter Alex Davidson by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or by phone at 229-0300, Ext. 156
