[ad_1]
SCHOHARIE, New York (WABC) –
The giant limousine that crashed and killed 20 people outside a country store failed a safety inspection last month and should not have been on the road. The driver did not have a proper driver's license, the governor of New York announced on Monday.
The state decided to close the owner, Prestige Limousine, while federal and US authorities were investigating the cause of Saturday's wreck in Schoharie.
The accident, located about 170 miles north of New York, occurred three years after another deadly limousine-limousine wreck in New York State prompted Governor Andrew Cuomo to review the safety of these vehicles. vehicles. It was not clear if the state had taken steps to do it.
Among the passengers killed in the Saturday crash, there were newlyweds, young parents, four sisters and their friends, who were heading to a birthday party.
RELATED: Remembering those who were killed in the Schoharie crash
The collision turned a relaxed Saturday afternoon into chaos in a popular northern New York State tourist spot that listens to fall foliage, with witnesses reporting ground bodies and breezes. Broken tree branches. An aunt from one of the victims aboard the vehicle said the group was about to celebrate her birthday.
The Ford Excursion 2001 limousine traveled southwest on Route 30 to Schoharie, about 270 kilometers north of New York, at around 14 hours. When he failed to stop at a T-junction with Highway 30A, the first Deputy Superintendent of State Police, Christopher Fiore, said at a press conference in Latham, Ontario. New York State.
He crossed the street and struck an unoccupied vehicle parked in the Apple Barrel store, killing the driver and 17 passengers, as well as two people outside the vehicle.
The 19-seater vehicle had at least some seatbelts, but it was unclear if anyone would wear them, said National Transportation Safety Board chairman Robert Sumwalt.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday that the driver did not have a proper license. He added that the vehicle had failed during a DMV inspection of the NYS last month and that it should not have been on the road.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation. It is not known yet whether it was caused by a vehicle malfunction, an operator error or some other factor. The investigators have not yet determined whether the driver has attempted to brake. Investigators could not see any signs of slippage, but that could be due to foggy weather or anti-lock brakes, Sumwalt said.
WATCH: Cuomo Government Discusses Deadly Crash Of A Limo
Investigators conducted autopsies, including the driver, to determine if drugs or alcohol were factors, and the NTSB was also looking for limousine problems.
But officials have already seen red flags, said Cuomo: The driver did not have the necessary commercial license, the limo had been cut to pieces and lengthened in a way that, according to Cuomo, violated the law Federal, and the vehicle had failed during an official inspection such as chassis, suspension and brakes.
"In my opinion, the owner of this company had no reason to put a vehicle down on the road," said the governor at a Columbus Day parade in New York. "Prestige has a lot of questions to answer."
The police seized three additional vehicles from the limousine company as part of the ongoing criminal investigation.
ABC News also reported Monday that the registered owner of the limousine that crashed this weekend was an FBI informant.
Shahed Hussain testified in connection with two terrorism cases, including a 2009 sting operation that disrupted an alleged plot to bomb a Bronx synagogue. The other case came from Albany and concerned the financing of terrorism.
Hussain became an informer in 2002 after being arrested for scam while working for the DMV.
He was caught helping immigrants cheat on driving tests and cooperated with the FBI to avoid any deportations to Pakistan, reported ABC News.
Hussain is believed to have returned to Pakistan in recent years, leaving his sons at the helm of the company.
Witnesses, neighbors and family members of the victims were left in mourning and tried to put everything in order.
The crash "looked like an explosion," said Linda Riley, of neighbor Schenectady, who had gone shopping with her sisters and who was in their car parked at the store. When she got out of her car, she saw a body on the ground, she said. People started screaming.
Store Manager Jessica Kirby told the New York Times that the limousine was coming down a hill at "probably over 60 mph".
On Saturday, in a Facebook message, the store thanked the emergency responders for their actions. The store announced Sunday that it was open "and could use your hugs".
The authorities said that they would not disclose the names of the victims or other information until all the families were informed, but the state police put in place a direct phone line for family members.
The sister of a victim has published a photo and information. She said her sister Amanda Halse and her boyfriend, Patrick Cushing, were killed in the limousine.
"My sister was someone who was very spontaneous and just loved to have fun," said Karina Halse, the victim's sister. "She was just a great human being, she just wanted to make sure everyone was happy, she was the best sister I ever had in my life, I'm so grateful for her. to have had and I will cherish his memory forever. "
Valerie Abeling, who was crying while crying, said her niece, Erin Vertucci, was among the victims, along with her newly married husband, Shane McGowan, and was going to a friend 's birthday party when the Accident is produced. She said that her own daughter had been invited but could not go.
"She was a beautiful and sweet soul, he was too," said Abeling. She said the couple were married at a "beautiful wedding" in June in a location in northern New York State. "They had everything for them."
Vertucci was 34 years old, McGowan was 30 years old. They met through the daughter of Abelel. Vertucci, who grew up in Amsterdam, New York, was administrative assistant at St. Mary's Healthcare in Amsterdam.
"It's one of the biggest casualties we've seen in a very long time," said Sumwalt, the deadliest since February 2009, when Colgan Air Flight 3407 was crashed in Buffalo, New York, killing 50 people.
Safety issues on these vehicles have already been raised, especially after the wreck of Long Island in July 2015, during which four women on a tour of vineyards were killed.
They were in a Lincoln Town Car that had been disassembled and rebuilt in an expandable configuration to accommodate more passengers. The limo was trying to turn around and was hit by a van.
A grand jury found that vehicles converted into stretch limousines often lacked safety measures, including side airbags, roll-over protection bars, and accessible emergency exits. This grand jury has asked New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to form a working group on limousine safety.
Limos built in factories are already required to follow strict safety rules, but when cars are converted into limousines, security functions are sometimes removed, resulting in gaps in security protocols, wrote the grand jury .
A vigil for the victims took place Monday night.
(Associated Press contributed to this report.)
———-
* Follow us on YouTube
* More local news
* Send us a newsletter
* Download the abc7NY app for last minute alerts
(Copyright © 2018 WABC-TV, All Rights Reserved.)
[ad_2]Source link
