A luxury home designer was arrested on Christmas Day after crashing his silver Porsche into an oncoming car. When the police asked him how much he had to drink, his response was, “Just today?”
Edward Yedid, co-founder of the luxury architecture and design company Grade New York, allegedly apologized to the family in the car he collided with, saying, “Sorry, my car just drives really fast.” The incident occurred on East Hampton Road mid-afternoon. The allegedly imbibed Yedid did, however, ask the impacted family if they were okay.
Edward Yedid
Edward Yedid is a renowned interior designer and co-founder of Grade New York, an upscale architecture and design firm. He also co-authored 2019’s “ New York Contemporary: Grade Architecture and Interiors.” Yedid has refined tastes highlighted in his profile from “Cool Hot Spots in the Hamptons: Edward Yedid’s Favorite Recommendations,” where he notes that his preferred dining preference is Le Bilboquet in Sag Harbor.
Christmas Day Accident
Yedid was allegedly speeding around 2:30 P.M. on December 25 and swerved into oncoming traffic. His 2021 Porsche Taycan 4S sports car veered into another luxury vehicle, a 2016 BMW SUV with a family of three. The driver, Arianna Thomas told a regional media outlet that she, her partner, and her father were “casually driving” when “This guy whips around a corner in his silver Porsche and we only had a second to react.”
Thomas also stated that if it was not for her father’s quick reaction, things could have been much worse. Thomas’s father quickly swerved so that the Porsche struck the BMW’s left front, avoiding a head-on collision, according to police reports. The passenger alleges against Yedid that “He was wearing head-to-toe designer clothes when he got out of the car, eyes completely bloodshot” and that they could “smell alcohol immediately.”
Arrest
Police corroborated Thomas’s statement and filed an arrest report that said a police officer at the scene of the impact stated that he noticed “the odor of an alcoholic beverage upon [Yedid’s] breath” and that he was “unsteady on his feet” and had “bloodshot glassy eyes.”
The officer on scene concluded that Yedid was intoxicated and that he “performed poorly on all standardized tests” but “produced a breath sample.” After the field sobriety tests, Yedid was promptly placed under arrest though the police report did not reveal his blood-alcohol content at the time of his arrest.
DWI Arrest
Yedid performed poorly on the sobriety tests, initiating his arrest. Thomas, a passenger in the other vehicle stated, “ I told him not to speak to me” after Yedid offered an excuse for striking the vehicle she was in. When asked by law enforcement how much he had to drink, Yedid responded, “Just today?”
After his arrest, Yedid was taken to Southampton Hospital, where he was subsequently released with orders to return to the local police station on December 27 for processing and booking, according to reports. He was charged with several infractions including driving while intoxicated, failure to keep right, speed not reasonable, and driving an uninspected car. His arraignment is scheduled for January 8, 2025.
Aftermath
Yedid’s Christmas DWI has allegedly resulted in three injuries for passengers of the impacted vehicle, which were treated at the hospital. Thomas’s partner suffered contusions on his legs and head, along with a cut on his nose. Thomas’s father suffered back pain. The victim went on to state that the family was emotionally impacted by spending Christmas in the hospital when they were on their way to see a movie. The Christmas Day crash underscores the sobering impact of privilege and recklessness that could have ended in tragedy.
