Limousine service operator convicted of 2018 accident that killed 20 people

SCHOHARIE, NY — It was a staggering and seemingly incomprehensible tragedy: A Saturday afternoon limousine ride went horribly wrong, killing 20 people, including a large group of young friends and relatives on their way to a birthday party.

On Wednesday, the operator of the company that rented that vehicle — a 31-foot-long, five-ton 2001 Ford Excursion stretch limousine — was found guilty of 20 counts of second-degree manslaughter in the October 2018 accident.

The operator, Nauman Hussain, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted within two weeks.

The verdict, announced in a nearly packed courtroom and after less than a day of deliberation by a jury in Schoharie County, southwest of Albany, closes a nearly five-year ordeal for the victims’ families, including all 17 passengers, the driver and two pedestrians outside a cafe and shop in Schoharie, NY

a Report 2020 discovered by the National Transportation Safety Board that the limousine’s braking system failed on Route 30 outside Schoharie, causing the vehicle to descend a long hill, eventually reaching over 100 mph and flying into an intersection with another busy rural side road.

The driver, Scott Lisinicchia, managed to avoid a car, but sped through the intersection and hit an SUV, which then struck and killed two nearby pedestrians. Apple Vat Café, a popular local establishment. The limousine then charged into a shallow ravine near the cafe and finally came to rest on an embankment.

The crash was the country’s deadliest transportation accident in nearly a decade, and the investigation soon took a curious turn when it was revealed that the limousine company’s owner – Shahed Hussain – was a longtime FBI informant.

At the time of the accident, Mr. Hussain, then 62, who operated the Prestige Limousine and Chauffeur Service with his son from a low-cost motel in Saratoga County, Pakistan was suffering from health problems; he has not returned to the United States since.

But Mr Hussain’s son, Nauman, was soon arrested, with authorities citing a long history of safety violations for the vehicle involved in the accident, and the fact that Mr Lisinicchia, the driver involved in the accident died, was not licensed to drive. such a huge limousine.

Schoharie County District Attorney Susan J. Mallery had repeatedly tried to commit Nauman Hussain, 33, to careless and dishonest surveillance of his vehicles during the trial’s six days of testimony. That argument was echoed in a lengthy, often languorous closing statement on Tuesday by Frederick Rench, who served as special prosecutor in the trial.

“Mr. Hussain caused the deaths of the victims,” ​​Mr. Rench said, outlining a number of lies the defendant had posted online about the limo’s condition and citing Mr. Hussain’s “duty” to make sure making sure the vehicle was roadworthy.”There’s no question about what his duty was.”

Even before the tragedy, the occupants of the tattered limousine — including four daughters from one family — had worried something was wrong. They sent text messages — some joking, others more serious — saying the vehicle’s engine was deafening and they smelled burning brakes.

Initially, the younger Mr. Hussain had reached an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to the murders in a deal that saved him jail timewith five years’ probation and 1,000 hours of community service.

But that agreement disapproved of by the families of the victimsused to be invalidated last year by state Supreme Court Justice Peter Lynch, who called the agreement “completely insincere and unacceptable.” Justice Lynch also oversaw the trial of Schoharie.

After years of delays, caused in part by the pandemic, the trial moved unexpectedly quickly: it had been expected to take six weeks, but the prosecution rested on Monday after just six days and about two dozen witnesses.

Lee Kindlon, Mr. Hussain’s attorney, called no witnesses. In a closing statement on Tuesday, he had argued that while his client was a bad businessman who had committed a series of vehicle violations, he was not responsible for the accident. ill-fated limousine repaired in the months before the accident.

During testimony last week, it was revealed that Mr. Hussain was tricked by a manager of a Mavis auto shop who told him that the repair work had been done on the brakes and that another employee had placed an inspection sticker from the National Motor Vehicles Authority on the limousine — without doing the inspection.

“He didn’t follow all the rules and regulations,” Mr Kindlon said. But, he added, “there’s a big gap between breaking some rules and people dying.”

Relatives of the victims – many of whom were between the ages of 20 and 30 – filled the courtroom during the trial and openly wept on several occasions when the names of the victims were read.