The driver who hit a mailman on a Long Island street Tuesday, severing his leg, according to witnesses, has been arraigned in the gruesome crash.
Stefano Belloisi, 51, of Deer Park, pleaded not guilty to charges of reckless driving and misdemeanor criminal possession of a controlled substance at First District Court in Central Islip Wednesday. The drug charge was for cocaine, the district attorney's office said.
Suffolk police say Belloisi was driving a Lincoln Continental westbound on Prairie Drive in North Babylon Tuesday afternoon when he veered off the road and hit the postal worker, then slammed into the postal truck, a fire hydrant and a telephone pole.
Neighbor Jason Leslie, who works as a nurse, told News 4 he heard the crash and when he ran outside to help the injured postman, found his leg "completely severed."
The 40-year-old postal worker from Bayport was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.
The postman's bag and letters he was about to deliver were strewn on the street after the crash. Neighbors called him "awesome," and say he's been on the route for years.
Bail for Belloisi was set at $100,000 cash or $200,000 bond.
