Limo manager sentenced to 5-15 years in prison for upstate NY crash that killed 20
The man held responsible for a 2018 limousine crash in upstate New York that killed 20 people was sentenced Wednesday to between five and 15 years in prison.
Nauman Hussain, 33, was convicted on 20 counts of second-degree manslaughter two weeks ago in connection with the crash.
The Oct. 6, 2018, wreck in Schoharie remains one of the deadliest American car crashes of the 21st century. A rented stretch Ford Excursion carrying 17 passengers through the hilly roads about 25 miles west of Albany lost control while coming down a hill.
The vehicle’s brakes didn’t work, and it reached speeds of 100 mph while careening down Route 30, blowing through a stop sign and slamming into a parking lot. All 17 passengers, the driver and two people standing in the parking lot were killed.
Hussain was the operator of Prestige Limousine, which owned the Excursion. His father, the company’s owner, had been out of the country for a few months when the wreck happened.
At trial, prosecutors focused on the company’s complete indifference toward state regulations. A federal safety investigation of the crash pinned it on Prestige Limousine, saying the company’s “egregious disregard for safety” was the main cause.
Hussain’s defense team argued that Hussain had been unjustly picked as the fall guy for the tragedy. His lawyers pointed out that Hussain did send the limo for maintenance, but employees at the repair shop lied about actually servicing the car.
Hussain will spend at least five years in prison, and from that point forward the state parole board will determine when he is released.
“It makes me and my family sick to know that a $2,000 brake repair would have avoided this catastrophe,” said Kevin Cushing, whose son Patrick Cushing died in the crash. “Nauman, you’re a sorry excuse for a human being.”
With News Wire Services
