Cops: Drunken Driver Who Rolled Car Onto Golf Course Was Three Times Legal Limit
On Further Lane in East Hampton Saturday night, the driver of a classic 1985 Mercedes-Benz 230 coupe lost control and drove onto the eighth hole of the Maidstone Club golf course, where the car rolled over at least twice and came to rest on its roof. In the hours after the crash, police charged Kyle L. Rosko of Montauk, 33, with felony drunken driving.
East Hampton Town Police Officer Jack Bartelme, who was on patrol, came upon the accident within minutes after it happened. The tires on the upside-down Mercedes were still spinning, Chief Gerard Larsen said.
Mr. Rosko was trapped inside the mangled car. The East Hampton Fire Department’s heavy-rescue squad had to free him, which took about 10 minutes, according to Gerry Turza, the first assistant fire chief. No one else was in the car.
Unable to determine his injuries but taking into consideration the severity of the crash, East Hampton Village Ambulance Association personnel decided to have Mr. Rosko airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital, the nearest level-one trauma center. The medevac helicopter landed on the golf course, near Egypt Lane, just as night fell. The last time that happened was back in the 1990s, emergency workers said.
On his public Instagram page, Mr. Rosko posted numerous photos of the yellow coupe, which he called Paloma. It had been delivered to him just a few months ago, and still had its German license plates. Police said the car was traveling east on Dunemere Lane at a high rate of speed and failed to negotiate the turn to Further Lane. It became airborne and struck an elevated green, which contributed to the rollover. Police reported damage to the golf course, but gave no further details.
The charge against Mr. Rosko was classified a felony because he has a previous conviction for driving while intoxicated within the past 10 years. The charge was further elevated yesterday after police announced that blood tests, taken at the hospital, showed his blood-alcohol level to be over three times the legal limit of .08. He has now been charged with felony aggravated D.W.I.
Mr. Rosko, an agent with Douglas Elliman Real Estate, is expected to make a full recovery, his attorney, Colin Astarita, said in a statement on Sunday evening. Stony Brook listed him in fair condition yesterday morning, and Mr. Astarita said he would not be released in time for his arraignment, which was to have been taken place today in East Hampton Town Justice Court. It will be adjourned.
On Sunday, the day after the crash, Mr. Astarita said his client maintained he was not intoxicated at the time. Asked for comment after the Suffolk County Crime Lab reported the results of the blood-alcohol test, the lawyer said, “We have not been provided with any results yet and therefore cannot comment on whether or not we will challenge the validity of the test.”
Village police reported that Mr. Rosko appeared intoxicated and told an officer that “I had a few.”
Mr. Astarita had insisted from the start that police filed the charges prematurely. “Charges should be filed only when the investigation is completed so that the proper charges are filed and we can then respond accordingly,” he said in a statement on Sunday. “This is extremely unfair, as Kyle is a very well-known, well-liked, and hard-working young man whose reputation can be affected by this unnecessary rush to judgment.”
Asked about Mr. Rosko’s level of intoxication, Chief Larsen said, “He’s lucky he didn’t kill himself or anyone else.”
Mr. Rosko was issued an appearance ticket on the felony charge after he was admitted to the hospital. He was also ticketed for several traffic violations, including traveling at a speed not reasonable and prudent, not wearing a seatbelt, and driving an unregistered, uninspected, and uninsured motor vehicle.
The accident occurred just minutes after village police, joined by officers from several other local jurisdictions, began a townwide overnight anti-drunken-driving enforcement sweep that netted four other drivers, as reported elsewhere in this section.