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MANORVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — The girlfriend of the SUV driver who authorities say caused a fatal crash that left him and five others dead says her boyfriend wasn’t speeding.

Twenty-two-year-old Ivonne Luque tells Newsday (http://nwsdy.li/2bUZj9F ) she was driving another car directly in front of 26-year-old Carmelo Pinales and watched as her boyfriend crashed. She says he wasn’t speeding and there was a lot of traffic on the Long Island Expressway on Sunday morning.

Investigators say witnesses told police Pinales’ SUV was traveling over the 55 mph speed limit. Suffolk Chief of Detectives Gerard Gigante says investigators haven’t determined his exact speed and are re-interviewing witnesses and examining the vehicles involved.

Among those killed was 29-year-old Scott Martella, a communications director for Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and a former aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

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Information from: Newsday, http://www.newsday.com