A young couple’s budding romance ended in a burst of blood and twisted metal when a Staten Island man lost control of his speeding car and hit a power pole, killing himself and his female passenger, cops said.
Charles Kramer, 24, was on a long-awaited first date Monday with 18-year-old Justina Perugini when the white 2003 Nissan he was driving at 11:45 p.m. went out of control on Hylan Boulevard near Greeley Avenue and sliced the pole in half, police said.
The date was something Kramer had been looking forward to since he first met Perugini during last summer’s blackout.
After numerous phone chats over the ensuing months, Perugini finally agreed to a date Monday.
“He was talking about this girl all the time,” said Kramer’s best friend, Mario Talavera, who loaned him his car for the ill-fated trip. “Both of them liked each other. They fell in love with each other.”
Perugini’s family said they did not know if the teen had any strong feelings for the older handyman. Yesterday, all they knew about Kramer was they were outraged at him.
“She was stolen away from us because somebody had to be a punk,” said Perugini’s brother Vincent.
“He came speeding down and the light turned green,” Vincent said. “He hit a dip and he killed her. It was no accident. She was my world. She was my best friend, and now she’s gone.”
Additional reporting by Sandra Guzman and Larry Celona