I bet, aside from broken bones, it was mostly internal injuries.

it's not the speed that kills, it's the sudden stopping.

while your body stops, your internal organs keep going.

Same cause of death as jumping off something tall and hitting the pavement.

that's hitting a object at high velocity.

NASCAR and Indy drivers who die in high speed wrecks suffer from the same kind of death as these people in the limo.

the limo suddenly stops your organs keep going.

you can be completely strapped in and have this happen.

Externally the body looks completely normal, but internally, your organs are basically liquefied.

If it went from 70+ to basically zero in an instant, I'm sure that would do it.

There may have been a number of trauma codes, where they didn't die immediately but they had so many serious injuries that there was nothing that could be done and died shortly after.

as a result of structural failures.

results in death.

Took the big impact in the driver's front corner, which is a hard hit in a deal like that.

into a ditch with no impact. But we are talking serious impact against a dirt wall?

Roof is buckled far to the rear, whole thing looks twisted. Looking at the aerial views, i'm thinking that the front corner hit first, and then the rest "whipped" into the bank.

That hit would rattle your teeth, if you were strapped into Jimmy Johnson's race car!

It looks like the vehicle skidded for a long way while it was either upside down or sideways. The track is a wide muddy path that tore up a considerable swathe of grass. These are not tire tracks.

I'm guessing that the vehicle skidded while upside down, but that's just a guess. That would have crushed the occupants.

It was he who received the notice that the limo failed its inspection and a separate notice that his driver didn't have the correct drivers license.

Last edited Wed Oct 10, 2018, 04:39 PM - Edit history (1)

First of all, there is the driver. The driver did not have D.O.T,, Commercial Driver's License (C.D.L.) certification. The certification tests for D.O.T. are more strict than for a regular driver's license. Autopsy will determine if drugs or alcohol were involved or if he had a medical problem.

Then we get to the company's responsibility ----

Whoever is running the company, in this case the owner's son, is responsible to see the driver is qualified to operate the vehicles. This involves checking the license to see if it is expired. Also, does it have a class of C.D.L. (Commercial Driver's License) stamped on the card. There are three classes of C.D.L. He needed a "Class C." If both of these are correct, then the supervisor's job is to run the driver's license through motor vehicles to see if there are violations that might preclude a reasonable person from allowing the person to operate your motor vehicle. The driver is required to present a medical card. A copy of this is to be in the driver's file. Finally, the supervisor/owner is responsible to arrange for random drug and alcohol tests.

Hours of service. I will not elaborate, but C.D.L. drivers are not permitted to drive beyond the daily and weekly limits. These limits include the time driving this particular vehicle AND any other full or part time job the driver may have. The company and the driver are responsible for this.

Then there is the vehicle. Commercial vehicles are subject to timely inspections in addition to random, side of the road inspections. That there were violations in March or earlier, does not necessarily mean that the vehicle was out of order at the time of the accident.

The driver is responsible to check the vehicle each time, before the vehicle leaves the yard. If something is wrong, the vehicle is not to leave the yard. This includes all lights and tires.

Maintenance records must also be kept that will document maintenance and repairs. These records are to be kept in the office in a place that is available for inspection by D.O.T. officials upon request.

If there are violations of D.O.T. and O.S.H.A. regulations, the driver, owner and the company's D.O.T. officer are responsible, for both civil and criminal penalties. That's why the owner's son is charged with murder.


Another sad part is that the victims families will likely not receive much compensation. The company likely had less than $2 million liability and probably less. Divide that by 20 people ---


I am taking time to write this in case there is someone reading this and has responsibility for a commercial vehicle. Don't ignore your responsibilities. 3 Hotdogs is probably all you get for supper in New York's Comstock Prison.

Then it MUST be removed from service untill the items that caused the failure are repaired AND the vehicle is resubmitted and passes a second inspection. It does not matter if it was a blown license plate bulb, it MUST be rechecked and certified by the state inspectors.

If the limo was shoddily turned into a stretch, its side airbags might never have been reinstalled, and it might not have been structurally strong.

Its hydraulic brakes might not have been properly repaired after the March inspection.

C.D.L. heavy trucks require brake repairs done by a certified brake technician. Not by Joe who runs the local garage, unless Joe is so certified. I do not know if this is required by all C.D.L. vehicles.

maybe never even had side airbags. I can’t believe anyone was operating a vehicle that old as a large-capacity limo.

I haven't seen any news report where the cause of the accident has been stated. The driver was going way too fast for sure, but maybe the brakes failed and he lost control. Or maybe it was some other mechanical problem, we don't know.

Just as an aside, I'll never understand why a wedding party would hire a limousine for 18 people. Why not hire a mini-bus or else 2 or 3 limousines? It doesn't make sense that all 18 people needed to ride together, when the vehicle wasn't built to hold that much weight.

Lab reports for toxicology will be quick. Autopsy, if any, maybe a bit longer.

Vehicle analysis will take much longer. Vehicle to be transported to lab/garage, then computer analysis, brake microscopic inspection.

Black box inspection. Many, if not all cars have limited black box. That vehicle was a 2001 so its internal records may not be as complete as a contemporary car.

Then there will be an investigation of the road characteristics, including how many accidents have taken place at that location.


Again, it is possible that the driver simply had a heart attack at the wheel.

Apparently their party bus broke down so they switched to the limo.

made for television movie. Oh wait, they already made a documentary, (T)ERROR, followed by a HBO film. Hell, I can believe there is more going on that will never see the light.



https://apnews.com/3f1cde80ad0b48759ddc82cabb492c87

Link to tweet

COBLESKILL — A limousine service operator was charged Wednesday with criminally negligent homicide in a crash that killed 20 people, while police continued investigating what caused the wreck and whether anyone else will face charges.

Nauman Hussain, 28, showed little emotion as he was arraigned Wednesday evening in an Albany-area court, and he ignored shouted questions from reporters as he left after posting $150,000 bond. A judge had entered a not guilty plea for him.

Earlier, his lawyer said that Hussain wasn’t guilty and that police were rushing to judgment in investigating Saturday’s stretch limo wreck.

But State Police Superintendent George Beach said Hussain hired a driver who shouldn’t have been behind the wheel of such a car, and the vehicle shouldn’t have been driven after state inspectors deemed it “unserviceable” last month.

“The sole responsibility for that motor vehicle being on the road on Saturday rests with Nauman Hussain,” Beach said, though he noted that investigators continue looking into whether anyone else should be held accountable in the crash.

Hussain’s car was packed with luggage when he was stopped Wednesday on Interstate 787, Schoharie County District Attorney Susan Mallery said.


Read more (Includes videos): https://poststar.com/news/local/limousine-service-operator-charged-in-crash-that-killed/article_8feaf7b5-3c3a-573d-9014-f2fe91ee7032.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

New York state officials are investigating the owner of the Prestige Limousine Chauffeur Service company, a Pakistani immigrant named Malik Shahed Hussain. In 2001, Hussain was arrested for helping people cheat on driver’s license tests. In exchange for avoiding deportation, he took a job as an FBI confidential informant, posing as a radical arms dealer in FBI sting operations. Hussain was a key figure in the FBI’s case against the so-called Newburgh Four—four Muslim men sentenced to 25-year prison terms after they were convicted for placing what they thought were bombs in a New York synagogue in 2010. Defense attorneys say the men were entrapped by government agents. Hussain’s backstory emerged as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he may face criminal charges for the crash.

https://www.democracynow.org/2018/10/9/headlines/owner_of_company_behind_deadly_ny_limo_crash_was_fbi_informant

Hat tip, Rhiannon12866, for the link to the Post*Star: A previous story in the local paper here said they were originally supposed to go by bus: