NY- Yankee pitcher Carl Pavano had a secret passenger during his secret car crash in Florida: a sexy model from Queens, the Daily News has learned.
A friend of Pavano’s whisked away gorgeous Gia Allemand following the Aug. 15 smashup, which the oft-injured hurler didn’t tell his ballclub about for 11 days.
That’s according to Ernest DeLaura, who was sitting in the cab of his 18-wheeler when Pavano’s Porsche plowed into him on a rain-slicked West Palm Beach road.
In an exclusive interview, DeLaura said he was initially convinced that Pavano and the young woman in the car – whom he later learned was Allemand, a 22-year-old beauty originally from Howard Beach – must have been badly injured or worse.
“I was so upset,” DeLaura told The News yesterday at his lawyers’ Long Island office. “I was calling my boss and saying, ‘They’re dead, they’re dead, they’re dead.'”
He soon realized, though, that Pavano and his passenger had survived the 11 a.m. crash.
“When he hit me, it blew the passenger window right out of his car,” DeLaura said. “I really thought she was hurt. She kept rubbing her arm and saying she was okay….
“And he was on the other side and he had two broken ribs, so I’m sure she got hurt.”
He said that a male friend of Pavano’s arrived and drove Allemand away – but not before DeLaura’s boss at the Solid Waste Authority of West Palm Beach took down her name for an internal company report.
DeLaura identified Allemand yesterday from pictures.
But she was gone by the time police arrived and her name did not appear on the police report.
Pavano did not mention her last month during the conference call with reporters in which he discussed the accident.
Neither Pavano or Allemand – who has been a Miss Italia, Miss South Beach and Miss American Teen – were reachable for comment yesterday.
Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman would not comment, though the team has been conducting its own probe into the incident, which occurred when Pavano was in Florida working his way back from various injuries.
Pavano suffered two broken ribs in the crash – but didn’t tell the Yanks about the accident until Aug. 26, drawing the team’s ire.
The 30-year-old righthander, who has made just 17 starts since signing a four-year, $39.9 million deal before the 2005 season, is unlikely to pitch again this year. He hasn’t taken the mound since last July.
Pavano, who used to date actress Alyssa Milano, also may be facing legal problems from the accident.
DeLaura said that hours later, he began to feel some pain in his shoulder and when he woke up the next morning it was worse.
“I couldn’t move,” said DeLaura, who is originally from Westchester County.
He said several times yesterday that he holds no ill will toward Pavano and is not intent on suing. He said he will not seek money from the pitcher unless he can’t work and support his wife and daughter.
“I’m hoping it’s not serious,” said DeLaura, who plans to undergo tests. “My main concern is taking care of my family and doing my job.”
“There will be a claim if there’s an injury that warrants making a claim,” said his lawyer, Paul Edelman. “If he has significant permanent injuries, there’s a case and we will make it.”