Driver in Maidstone Crash Appears in Court Friday
Kyle L. Rosco, 33, of Sag Harbor was arraigned in East Hampton Town Justice Court Friday morning on felony charges of drunken driving stemming from crash on Saturday evening in which his car rolled over and came to rest on the Maidstone Club's golf course.
His attorney, Colin Astarita, entered a denial to the felony charges, and Mr. Rosco pleaded not guilty to six violations, including driving an unregistered, uninsured, and uninspected vehicle. He is also charged with driving at an unsafe speed, making an unsafe lane change, and not wearing a seatbelt while driving. The drunken driving charges are at the felony level because Mr. Rosco has already been convicted of driving while intoxicated as a misdemeanor within the past 10 years.
The 1985 Mercedes-Benz he was driving was totaled. Mr. Rosco, who was alone in the vehicle, had to be extracted from it by emergency aid workers, and was flown by helicopter to Stony Brook University Hospital, the nearest level-one trauma center.
Originally due in East Hampton Town Justice Court to be arraigned on Thursday, his arraignment was moved to Friday because he was not released from the hospital until Thursday night.
Mr. Rosco's parents sat silently in the second row of the courtroom.
Mr. Rosco, who was identified in previous reports as being a Montauk resident, told the court that he lives on Noyac Path in Noyac.
He spoke little during the proceedings. "Your driving privilege is suspended, based upon a reading of .25 [of 1 percent], which I have in my file. You cannot drive," Justice Lisa R. Rana said, then asked. "You understand that you cannot drive?"
"Yes, I understand," said Mr. Rosco, whose left arm was in a sling.
Mr. Astarita asked that his client be released without bail. Or, he said, "if your honor is considering bail, consider bail in the amount of $2,500. His parents are prepared to post that."
"I want to make a record as to why I am setting [this amount], given the serious circumstances," Justice Rana said. "I consider that to be a very reasonable bail, considering your prior record, considering this is a felony, [because] you do have substantial ties to this community. You did voluntarily appear today, you have retained counsel, and counsel has been very communicative with the court and did, in fact, contact the court yesterday as soon as he knew you were being released, making prompt arrangements for your appearing in court this morning. Considering all of that, I will set the bail at $2,500."
Mr. Astarita waived his client's right to a speedy trial, to allow for discussion about the case between himself and the district attorney's office. He agreed to a return date of Aug. 11, but indicated that he anticipates his client will be indicted by a grand jury on the felony charges by then, which would move the case to county court, either in Riverside or in Central Islip.
During the arraignment, Mr. Astarita told the court that his client is a real estate broker with Douglas Elliman. On Mr. Rosco's LinkedIn page, he identifies himself as a member of the Matthew Breitenbach Team, a sub-group of the real estate corporation, specializing in high-end properties in Manhattan and the Hampton's. However, in the past 48 hours, all mention of Mr. Rosco on the corporate giant's website appear to have been deleted, as has the "About Kyle Rosco" page.