A passenger expressed his concern about his limousine shortly before an accident was killed 20

The company that provided the limousine that crashed in upstate New York on Saturday, killing 20 people, repeatedly failed during the inspection of motor vehicles, according to federal transportation records. And one victim expressed concerns about the safety of the limousine in a text sent shortly before the accident, said relatives and friends.

A friend said she had received a message from one of the victims, Erin McGowan, telling her that a party bus supposed to take the group of friends to take them to a brewery broke down on the way.

Instead, the group got an elongated limousine, which was in bad shape, said Ms. McGowan to her friend, using foul language to describe the vehicle.

Melissa Healey, 33, who was the bridesmaid at McGowan's wedding last summer, shared the lyrics with The New York Times.

"The engine makes everyone deaf," Ms. McGowan wrote, before Ms. Healey asked where they rented the car.

Ms. McGowan replied that she was not sure, but then she added, "When we get to the brewery, we'll all be deaf."

They never did it.

The company that rented the vehicle was Prestige Limousine, a small company operating in Gansevoort, New York City, north of Albany, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation. A review of federal transportation records indicates that the company, which currently had three vehicles, failed during inspections, although the logs did not provide details of the failures.

A phone number listed for the company in the federal archives was disconnected Monday,

Saturday's accident officer had still not been officially identified on Monday, as investigators continue to look for clues as to why Ford Excursion's 2001 limousine drove down a rural highway. through a stop sign and into an unoccupied car, making 17 dead friends in the vehicle who were going to celebrate a birthday party. Two pedestrians were also killed in the accident in the small town of Schoharie, in the state of New York, where the accident occurred.

The survey will also include autopsies of the victims, a very united group comprising four sisters, two brothers and several young couples. The victims had not yet been identified by the authorities, but friends and broken-hearted parents had already published testimonies.

"I lost my two best friends," wrote Justin Cushing. His brother Patrick, his friend Adam Jackson and his cousin Mrs. McGowan all died in the limousine. "I'm shaking."

The intersection where the accident occurred, about 40 miles west of Albany, was notoriously dangerous for locals: a delicate T-shape, where traffic east-west often accelerated beyond 50 km / h displayed. speed limit.

"This has long been a source of contention to Schoharie," said Rosemary Christoff Dolan, arriving Sunday at the crash site.

Police said the limousine was coming down the intersection without stopping, crossing this busy road, then hitting the second car in the parking lot of the Apple Barrel, a local store and two pedestrians nearby. The limousine then crashed into a shallow ravine.

Questions about the safety and regulation of these oversized vehicles were also raised. According to the state police, limousine drivers are required to wear seatbelts, but passengers who often move in open spaces at the back are not. A lack of restraint means can cause serious injury during a collision. Indeed, only one person inside the limo on Saturday apparently survived the initial impact before being declared dead in an Albany hospital.

Such oversized vehicles have already been involved in fatal accidents in New York: In 2015, a limousine carrying A bridal group of eight women crashed into a van in Cutchogue, New York, killing four people.