New York regulators failed to do all they could to sideline a poorly maintained stretch limousine that careened down a hill and crashed in 2018, killing 20 people, according to a state watchdog.
FILE - Nauman Hussain, the operator of a limousine company involved in a crash that killed 20 people in upstate New York, leaves the Schoharie County court house Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, in Schoharie, N.Y. New York regulators failed to do all they could to sideline a poorly maintained stretch limousine that careened down a hill and crashed in 2018, killing 20 people, according to a state watchdog, Friday, Oct. 28, 2022.ALBANY, N.Y.
The operator, Prestige, repeatedly changed the listed number of seats in the 2001 Ford Excursion limo and took other steps to avoid safety regulations, government officials have said. The inspector said regulators missed opportunities to identify problems with the limo's registration and that the transportation department didn't take all the steps available to have the vehicle's license plates seized.
The transportation department strongly disagreed with some assertions in the report, including the conclusion that it could have unilaterally initiated a plate seizure process, said Marie Therese Dominguez, a commissioner with the agency.Axel Steenburg had rented the limousine for the 30th birthday of his new wife. Seventeen family members and friends were killed when the limousine crashed, along with the driver and two bystanders outside a country store.