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Cops: Driver ran over pal who feared he was drunk

SETAUKET, N.Y. - An inebriated man ran over and killed a friend who had climbed out of his car and started walking home because she was worried he was drunk, police said.

The accident happened at around 4 a.m. Saturday in Setauket on Long Island.

Lawrence Pagano, 23, called 911 after his car struck 21-year-old Krystal Berkowitz, Suffolk County police said.

Police determined that Berkowitz had gotten out of Pagano's car because she feared that he was too drunk to drive safely.

She began walking home but Pagano followed her, CBS New Radio in New York reported. Police said Pagano tried to pull over to talk to Berkowitz but instead hit her with his vehicle.

Berkowitz, of Stony Brook, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Pagano, of Coram, was arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated.

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