Wedding limousine crash in shop car park leaves 20 dead

A crash involving a limousine at a tourist spot in upstate New York left 20 people dead, officials confirmed yesterday.

Reports suggest that the limo, carrying wedding guests, was speeding down a hill when it crashed into bystanders at the Apple Barrel Country Store car park in Schoharie, about 170 miles north of New York City.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was investigating.

In a Facebook post, the Apple Barrel Country Store thanked emergency officials for their actions in the aftermath of the “horrific” accident.

Yesterday the store posted that it was open “and could use your hugs”.

Jessica Kirby, 36, the manager of the store, said multiple customers in the car park were killed when they were hit by the limousine as it sped down Route 30.

“All fatal,” she said. “That limo was coming down that hill probably over 60mph.

“I don’t want to describe the scene. It’s not something I want to think about.”

Ms Kirby said that the Columbus Day weekend is the busiest weekend of the year for the store and that it was packed. Most of her customers had arrived from New York City, New Jersey or Albany, she said.

“A lot of people from New York City come up and they do the country things, the apple picking and the sort,” she said.

Route 30 leads steeply downhill to a T-junction with Route 30A, which is marked with a stop sign.

Ms Kirby said the intersection was dangerous, adding: “We’ve had three tractor trailer-type vehicles – they come down that hill too fast, they go though our parking lot and they end up in a field behind our business.”

Other witnesses described chaos, with a massive turnout of ambulances and other responders.

“I heard some screaming. It looked serious because people were running back and forth,” Bridey Finegan, of Schoharie, said.

Bill Waterson, who said he was invited to the wedding that the limousine was travelling from, said he could not believe what he had witnessed, describing it as “terrible”.

A person with knowledge of the investigation said 18 victims were in the limo and two were bystanders. The person was not authorised to discuss the preliminary information publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The State Police said: “The names of the victims are not being released at this time as next of kin are being notified.”

Ms Kirby said she was in the store when she heard the loud bang. She rushed out and immediately called 911.

“We’ve heard accidents before,” she said. “You know that sound when it happens.”