After plea deal shot down, owner of Schoharie limo that crashed and killed 20 going to trial May 1

Alex Gault, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
Updated ·3 min read

Apr. 18—SCHOHARIE — Almost five years after the fatal limo crash that killed 20 people, including a Watertown couple, the limo company's owner is going to trial.

Nauman Hussain, who with his father Shahed owned Prestige Limousine, has been facing 20 charges of criminally negligent homicide since the 2018 crash. Hussain had entered a plea of guilty under the terms of a deal with the prosecution in 2021, which would have given him no prison time, five years of probation and 1,000 hours community service.

But in a surprising move, on Aug. 31 last year, the Schoharie County judge overseeing the case rejected the plea deal, calling for Hussain to serve a prison sentence.

Prosecutors have alleged that the younger Hussain, who operated the company, had cut corners on safety, hiring a driver without the proper qualifications and keeping the vehicle in an unsafe state. They also allege Hussain removed a sticker placed on the limo stating it was not safe to operate.

The limo's brakes failed on a steep hill in Schoharie County on Oct. 6, 2018, plummeting at more than 100 mph into a gas station parking lot, killing all 17 occupants, the driver and two bystanders. It was one of the most lethal American transportation accidents in decades, and prompted serious inquiry into the safety of the limousine and charter bus industry.

Watertown residents Mary E. and Robert J. Dyson were among those killed.

The trial will begin in state Supreme Court in Schoharie County on May 1, after a motion to delay the trial was rejected by Judge Peter Lynch.

The crash and its aftershocks have been a subject of focus from Rep. Elise M. Stefanik, who has demanded that the FBI answer for its dealings with Shahed Hussain. The elder Mr. Hussain has not been accused of wrongdoing in the limo crash case, but Rep. Stefanik has alleged that the FBI's connection to Mr. Hussain as a confidential informant led to him avoiding punishment for breaking the law, despite numerous encounters with law enforcement. The congresswoman has said that if Mr. Hussain was shielded from the law, that could have had a hand in the lapses in law enforcement and regulations regarding the limo business.

The elder Mr. Hussain was in Pakistan at the time of the crash, and has not returned to the United States since, despite his son's trial.

Lawyers for the younger Hussain's defense sought to subpoena FBI Director Christopher Wray and Rep. Stefanik, R-Willsboro, arguing that they likely had insight into the FBI's probe into its dealings with the elder Mr. Hussain and any connection that may have had to the crash. Judge Lynch rejected that motion, on the grounds that no local officials nor the court are entitled to the details of the confidential investigation, and state court lacks the standing to subpoena federal officials.

As the court prepares for the trial, they will have to select a jury of 12 citizens from the Schoharie County population, which will involve calling at least 1,500 potential jurors for review. The trial is expected to take six weeks.

An appeal filed by the defense in the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court is seeking to overturn the decision to invalidate Hussain's negotiated plea deal, but has not yet received a ruling.