# Tourist-spot crash in upstate New York kills 18 in wedding-party limo and 2 bystanders **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 7, 2018, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-spot-crash-in-upstate-new-york-kills-18-in-wedding-party-limo-and-2-bystanders/822623 "2018-10-07T20:43:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-spot-crash-in-upstate-new-york-kills-18-in-wedding-party-limo-and-2-bystanders/822623/81 "2018-10-12T03:15:31Z")
I just heard on the local news that a “suspicious death” was reported at a motel owned by this family. No further details were given. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-spot-crash-in-upstate-new-york-kills-18-in-wedding-party-limo-and-2-bystanders/822623/82 "2018-10-12T13:32:41Z")
The limo company’s attorney was on the news, claiming:that the violations on the limo had been corrected (he did not state whether it had been approved for use on the road) and that the government shares in the blame because the road was not “properly maintained.” Yeah, right. And when Diane Schuler went the wrong way on a highway and killed eight people while driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, it’s because the “one way” sign was partially obscured. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-spot-crash-in-upstate-new-york-kills-18-in-wedding-party-limo-and-2-bystanders/822623/83 "2018-10-12T14:54:29Z")
This will make a great episode of _Law & Order._ ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-spot-crash-in-upstate-new-york-kills-18-in-wedding-party-limo-and-2-bystanders/822623/84 "2018-12-21T04:28:07Z")
**Bumpdate:** NTSB [still](https://cbs6albany.com/news/local/ntsb-times-up-demanding-access-to-the-limo-involved-in-schoharie-crash) waiting on the vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-spot-crash-in-upstate-new-york-kills-18-in-wedding-party-limo-and-2-bystanders/822623/85 "2021-09-03T11:53:45Z")
Updating this thread: > **[The Limo Operator From A 2018 Crash That Killed 20 People Will Avoid Prison Time](https://www.npr.org/2021/09/02/1033783112/the-limo-operator-from-a-2018-crash-that-killed-20-people-will-avoid-prison-time)** > > Nauman Hussain, 31, had been charged with 20 counts each of criminally negligent homicide and second-degree manslaughter in what was the deadliest U.S. transportation disaster in a decade. Here is the final NTSB report on the accident, released less than a year ago: > **[HAR2003.pdf](https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/HAR2003.pdf)** > > 6.28 MB ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-spot-crash-in-upstate-new-york-kills-18-in-wedding-party-limo-and-2-bystanders/822623/86 "2021-09-03T12:07:28Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > The impact was hard enough to drive the engine through the firewall into the front-seat area. This seems to give credence to the idea that the driver was either dead drunk or had some kind of medical emergency because it seems like the machine didn’t slow down at all before impact. True, sudden catastrophic brake failure could also be a cause, but how often does an automobile have sudden and complete brake failure? ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-spot-crash-in-upstate-new-york-kills-18-in-wedding-party-limo-and-2-bystanders/822623/87 "2021-09-03T12:40:23Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Here is the final NTSB report on the accident, released less than a year ago: From the report, explaining the extreme death toll: “The limousine was traveling an estimated **101–118 mph** when it collided with the Toyota SUV. 3 The SUV was propelled in a southerly direction and struck two pedestrians who were standing near the SUV. The speed of the limousine was reduced to about **80 mph** as it continued about 55 feet south, entered a ravine, and then struck an earthen embankment and several trees.” ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-spot-crash-in-upstate-new-york-kills-18-in-wedding-party-limo-and-2-bystanders/822623/88 "2023-05-18T12:35:15Z")
Update: Nauman Hussain, owner of the limo company, [was convicted](https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/schoharie-limo-crash-jury-enters-second-day-18104121.php) yesterday of twenty counts of second-degree manslaughter. The expected prison term is five to fifteen years. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-spot-crash-in-upstate-new-york-kills-18-in-wedding-party-limo-and-2-bystanders/822623/89 "2023-05-18T12:50:22Z")
The NPR article upthread from 2021 says this: > But under an agreement for Hussain to plead guilty only to the homicide counts and spare families the uncertainties and emotional toll of a trial, he is being sentenced to five years of probation and 1,000 hours of community service. Is there any change to that prison-free status? Could you post a quote from the article (it is whining about my ad blocker and I don’t want to turn that off) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-spot-crash-in-upstate-new-york-kills-18-in-wedding-party-limo-and-2-bystanders/822623/90 "2023-05-18T13:06:12Z")
From the new article, from the Albany Times-Union, > It was the second time Hussain had been found guilty in the case. > > In 2021, he pleaded guilty to 20 counts of criminally negligent homicide in a deal with Mallery in exchange for avoiding any jail or prison time. But Lynch, who took over the case last summer after the retirement of the previous judge, tossed the plea agreement after concluding it was illegal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-spot-crash-in-upstate-new-york-kills-18-in-wedding-party-limo-and-2-bystanders/822623.md?page=4)