Hamptons judge chides luxury home designer for ‘really offensive’ Christmas drunken car crash
A Hamptons judge chided a luxury home designer for a “really offensive” drunken car accident on Christmas Day, with the jurist warning he would keep him on a short leash.
East Hampton Town Justice Court Judge David Filer told Edward Yedid — the co-founder of upscale architecture and design company Grade New York — during an arraignment Wednesday that his license was suspended for a year for not taking a breath test.
“If you choose to drive, if you’re stopped by the police — you will be arrested [and] you could spend time in jail,” the judge said to Yedid.
Yedid allegedly admitted to cops at the time of his arrest that he “had two tequila vodkas hours ago,” according to law enforcement records.
When cops arrived at the scene of the crash and asked Yedid how much he’d drank, he allegedly responded, “Just today?” a passenger in the other car said.
Yedid’s lawyer, Edward Burke Jr. — who notably represented Justin Timberlake in his DWI case in the Hamptons last year — entered a plea of not guilty on his client’s behalf to one misdemeanor count of driving while intoxicated and several moving violations.
Filer said he found Yedid’s alleged conduct “really offensive” — especially given that someone had already called 911, alerting the police about Yedid’s erratic driving even before he got into a wreck with a car carrying a family of three on Newtown Lane around 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 25.
Suffolk County prosecutor Samantha Sparacino asked the judge to set conditional release terms, including screening Yedid for alcohol and drug use with a bracelet monitor — noting Yedid had pleaded guilty in 2008 to charges related to a Manhattan drunk driving case.
Burke said Yedid knew about the “severity” of the situation and said conditional release wouldn’t be necessary as Yedid had entered a 90-day rehab program at the Dunes in East Hampton.
“He’s committed to the Dunes. He’s committed to AA,” Burke said. “Let him prove himself to his family.”
While Filer agreed to Burke’s request to forgo conditional release terms, he said he was worried Yedid would hurt himself or someone else in the future.
“I will be ready to order [conditional release terms] at any time in the coming days or weeks if the defendant’s behavior warrants it,” the judge warned.
Filer said that Yedid’s license had been automatically suspended for a year since he refused to take a breathalyzer at the time of the arrest.
“Yes,” answered a somber Yedid — wearing a suit and tie.
Yedid and Burke didn’t comment on their way out of court.
The 46-year-old well-heeled designer allegedly swerved into an oncoming traffic lane crashing his 2021 Porsche Taycan 4S into a 2016 black BMW SUV, carrying Thomas, her dad and partner — who were on their way to see “Wicked” at the movie theater.
“He was wearing head-to-toe designer clothes when he got out of the car, eyes completely bloodshot,’’ Thomas said of Yedid when he got out of the car.
Thankfully, no one was seriously injured in the incident but Thomas said instead of seeing a movie, the trio spent the day in the emergency room, making sure they were okay.
