Feds blame operator, NY state regulators
ALBANY, N.Y. » State regulators repeatedly failed to properly oversee a poorly maintained stretch limousine with corroded brakes that hurtled down a hill in Schoharie County at more than 100 mph and crashed in a ravine, killing 20 people, federal investigators said Tuesday.
National Transportation Safety Board members unanimously voted to accept a final report that found widespread fault in the October 2018 crash, which called all 18 people in the limo and two pedestrians, including an Ulster County resident.
The NTSB found that the crash was likely caused by Prestige Limousine’s “egregious disregard for safety” that resulted in brake failure on a long downhill stretch of road and that ineffective state oversight contributed.
NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt also criticized the Schoharie County prosecutor and state police for what he said was a lack of cooperation with the agency’s crash investigation.
The crash killed 17 family members and friends, including four sisters and three of their husbands, along with the driver and two pedestrians outside a country store in the town of Schoharie, about 70 miles northwest of Kingston. It was the deadliest transportation disaster in the United States in a decade.
The pedestrians who died were James Schnurr, 70, of Kerhonkson. and his son-inlaw, Brian G. Hough, 46, of Morovia, N.Y.
“Seventeen young people made the smart, safe decision to arrange for sober transportation when celebrating,” NTSB board member Michael Graham said during an online hearing. “They put their trust and safety into a system designed to protect them, and it failed.”
Lee Kindlon, a lawyer for Prestige Limousine operator Nauman Hussain, said his client tried to maintain the limo and relied on what he was told by state officials and a repair shop that inspected it.
NTSB staff members told the board that the brake system was corroded and that a brake line was crimped, which would have restricted the fluid flowing to the right rear brake. Parts of the line were coated in brake fluid, indicating a leak.
The NTSB last month released a cache of documents indicating Hussain repeatedly changed the listed number of seats in the 2001 Ford Excursion limo and took other steps to avoid safety regulations. The NTSB on Tuesday faulted the state for letting it happen.
The board said the state Department of Transportation knew of Prestige’s outof-service violations and lack of operating authority. The board said the state Department of Motor Vehicles failed to properly register the limousine, allowing Prestige to circumvent safety regulations and inspection requirements.
The two state agencies said they “ordered that vehicle off the road multiple times.”
The limousine had been rented from Saratoga County-based Prestige to take a group of young friends and siblings to a 30th birthday celebration at a brewery near Cooperstown on Oct. 6, 2018. The limo’s brakes failed on a downhill stretch of a state road in Schoharie, and the vehicle blew through a stop sign at a T intersection and crashed.
Hussain faces 20 charges each of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. He has pleaded not guilty and was scheduled to stand trial in May, but the trial was delayed because of the COVID pandemic. His lawyers have been meeting with prosecutors to discuss a possible plea deal.
Thomas King, who lost four daughters in the crash, said he agreed with the NTSB that “all the parties dropped the ball.” Kevin Cushing, who lost his son, said as difficult as it was to read the NTSB report, it was good to see all the facts laid out.
“There’s certainly not any closure, by any stretch,” Cushing said. “Does it reopen wounds? I’m not sure that the wounds have closed.”
Sumwalt said a lack of cooperation from law enforcement delayed the completion of the investigation to almost two full years after the crash.
“Unfortunately, the parallel criminal investigation conducted by the Schoharie County District Attorney’s Office and the New York State Police significantly impeded and curtailed our typical investigative efforts,” Sumwalt said Tuesday. “Particularly, early in our investigation, some NTSB investigators were outright blocked from even viewing, let alone examining, critical evidence.”
As part of its report, the NTSB issued limousine safety recommendations to federal and state officials and to the National Limousine Association.