SCHOHARIE, NY – The giant limousine that crashed and killed 20 people outside a shop failed a safety inspection last month and should not have been on the road. The driver was not in good standing, said Monday the governor of New York.

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 company said that it was pulling its cars off the road while conducting its own investigation of the accident.

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. There is no evidence that the state has taken steps to do so.

While relatives of the victims were trying to cope with the tragedy that occurred when a group of friends and family members were preparing for a party on the occasion of its 30th birthday, the authorities They had not yet announced how fast the limousine was going or why it had failed. off the road at the bottom of a long hill.

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.

Investigators plan to examine the data loggers and mechanical systems of the mutilated limousine, as well as the road, which has a history as a danger point. They also review the driver's file and qualifications and conduct an autopsy to determine if drugs or alcohol were factors.

But officials have already seen red flags, Cuomo said: The driver did not have the necessary commercial license, and the vehicle failed during a state inspection covering items 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."

He also stated that the limousine – built by separating a robust SUV and extending it – was created without federal certification, although NTSB officials said they have not yet determined whether the vehicle meets federal standards.

Prestige Limousine issued a statement on Monday in which it expressed its condolences to the families of the victims and declared that it was conducting "a thorough internal investigation" while meeting the state and federal authorities.

The company based in Gansevoort, New York, said it has voluntarily withdrawn its cars from the road. But state police said they seized four cars from the Prestige, including the one that crashed.

Federal records show that the company has had five inspections in the past two years and four vehicles have been removed from service.

During the September 4 inspections, the company's limousines were cited due to defective brakes, lack of proper emergency exits, flat or deflated tires, defective windshield wipers and other maintenance issues.

Federal transport records indicate that Prestige belongs to Shahed Hussain, who worked as an informant for the FBI after the September 11 attacks, infiltrating Muslim groups posing as a terrorist in at least three investigations. In one case, he helped convict men accused of conspiracy to bomb New York synagogues.

His role in the FBI was assaulted by civil liberties groups, who accused him of helping the FBI trap people. Asked Monday on Hussain, the FBI did not want to comment.

The limousine, built from a Ford Excursion of 2001, mounted a stop sign at a T-shaped intersection located at the bottom of a hill and struck an unoccupied SUV.

The investigators have not yet determined whether the driver has attempted to brake. The accident left no visible trace of skidding, but that could be due to foggy weather or anti-lock brakes, said Sumwalt.

Authorities did not disclose the driver's name, but his friends and family have identified him on social networks under the name of Scott Lisinicchia.

"The investigation is still going on and the facts are not verified," wrote his niece, Courtney Lisinicchia, on Facebook.

The wreck killed two pedestrians and the 18 people in the limousine, including four sisters who went with friends and relatives to a brewery for a party for one of the sisters.

The aunt of the four sisters, Barbara Douglas, said she felt "to have acted responsibly by being a limousine so she would not have to drive anywhere."

"My heart is deep, it's in a place where I've never felt that kind of pain before," said Karina Halse, who lost her sister Amanda, 26.

More than 1,000 people gathered at a park in Amsterdam to pay tribute to the victims and their families on Monday night.

"We are crushed with you, we are crushed for you," US Representative Paul Tonko told a crowd that spilled on a bridge spanning the Mohawk River. Some parents shed tears when a woman sang "Amazing Grace". The ceremony ended with the raising of candles above everyone's head.

The accident seemed to be the deadliest in the United States since a bus carrying patients to Texas retirement homes fleeing Hurricane Rita in 2005 had caught fire and killed 23 people. Buffalo, New York, killed 50 people.

Factory-made limousines must comply with strict safety rules. However, luxury cars converted to limousines, such as the one on Saturday, often lack safety features such as side airbags, reinforced anti-rollover protection bars and accessible emergency exits.

Few federal regulations govern modified limousines after leaving the factory. Regulations often vary from state to state.

"It's definitely the Wild West limousines and stretched vehicles," said National Security Council CEO Deborah A.P. Hersman.

Ford said in a statement that he had never made his own extensible version of the Excursion. He was certifying that outside companies were modifying them to Ford specifications for up to 14 seats during the 2001 model year, but it was unclear who had modified the SUV that had crashed on Saturday.

After sacking a limousine on New York's Long Island in 2015, killing four women, a special grand jury implored Cuomo to consider the safety of these vehicles.

It seems that the working group was never formed and almost three years after the recommendation of the grand jury, it was difficult to know what the administration of Cuomo would have done in response.

"I do not know if a working group has been set up," said the governor Monday, while suggesting that Saturday's accident did not necessarily indicate the need for increased regulation .

"Sometimes people just do not respect the law" that already exists, he said. "And that's maybe what happened here."

The New York Grand Jury Report recommended that state legislators require stretch limousines that can accommodate nine or more passengers to comply with the stricter bus inspection rules.

Legislators, including Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, asked the federal authorities several years ago to raise the safety standards for modified stretch limousines after manufacturing.