Unscathed In Rollover Crash

A Manhattan man survived a rollover crash in a rented 2017 Volkswagen that snapped an electricity pole in half at the side of Montauk Highway in Montauk Sunday night, before he was arrested on drunken driving charges. Evan C. Kremin, 50, told East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana the next morning during his arraignment that he had just left Lynn’s Hula Hut where, as a musician, he had been performing. 

According to the police, Mr. Kremin headed south toward Montauk Highway via West Lake Drive. But, as he approached the highway in the Avis rental, he failed to follow either side of a fork in the road. Instead, moving at what police believe was a high rate of speed, he shot straight across a small grassy triangular interchange, crossing over the busy highway, then up an embankment at Seaside Avenue, just missing a fire hydrant. The car was airborne briefly before smashing through the pole and rolling into the woods. 

The top of the snapped pole was left dangling, with its high-tension wires attached, creating a hazardous situation, Vincent Franzone, the chief of the Montauk Fire Department, said Tuesday. Only essential personnel were allowed anywhere near the scene, which, he said, was not an easy accomplishment, given that it was 10 p.m. on the penultimate party night of the Montauk summer season, with traffic coming from both directions on Montauk Highway, as well as from West Lake Drive and Seaside Avenue. There was even surprisingly heavy pedestrian traffic for fire police to deal with, the chief said. 

All the airbags in the car had deployed, and the windows were shattered and cracked. The roof had a huge dent right over the driver’s seat. The vehicle ended up resting on the driver’s side. While Mr. Kremin was not pinned inside it, it was necessary for rescue workers to remove the windshield so that he could get out.

Placed under arrest on a driving while intoxicated charge, he was taken to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, and not having injuries, was released back to the police. “He didn’t have a scratch on him,” the chief said, adding that he was “super surprised” that the driver came through unscathed. Mr. Kremin agreed to have blood drawn at the hospital to determine the level of alcohol in his system. It was not disclosed.

The driver of a Marshall and Sons’ MER Service Corporation truck called to the scene on Labor Day morning to tow the wreck away had to wait seven hours while PSEG workers secured the electrical lines and replaced the destroyed pole. 

During his arraignment, Mr. Kremin told Justice Rana that his guitar and glasses were in the car. “He really needs his glasses. He can’t see a thing without them,” Edward Burke Jr., his attorney, said. The guitar, and what was left of the Avis rental, had been secured at Marshall and Sons in Montauk. Mr. Burke entered a plea of not guilty to the misdemeanor drunken driving charge as well as to the moving violations Mr. Kremin was cited for. He was released without having to post bail.