Limo company operator found guilty of manslaughter stemming from crash that killed 20

A limousine company operator was once found guilty of second-degree manslaughter for a 2018 crash in upstate New York that left 20 folks lifeless.

Nauman Hussain was once in price of the day by day operations of Prestige Limousine when the company rented the stretch Ford Excursion SUV to a gaggle celebrating a thirtieth celebration on Oct. 6, 2018.

The limo was once touring on a downhill stretch of street when it went via an intersection and crashed right into a parked Toyota Highlander in Schoharie, a the town about 40 miles away from Albany. All 17 passengers, the driving force and two pedestrians have been killed.

The limo had failed an inspection by means of the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles the month previous to the crash and the driving force didn’t have the fitting motive force’s license to be running that car, state officers mentioned on the time.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators found in a 2020 document that the car had failed an inspection simply over a month sooner than the crash, and that one of the brakes was once non-operational on the time of the incident.

Prestige Limousine “knowingly” operated a limousine in “poor mechanical condition” the day of the crash, in step with the NTSB. The company additionally mentioned the company’s repairs program was once no longer “effective” to make sure passengers’ protection.

Hussain pleaded guilty to 20 counts of criminally negligent murder in 2021. The trial got here after a pass judgement on threw out a plea deal reached with Schoharie County prosecutors ultimate fall that would have spared him a jail sentence.

Jurors heard six days of witness testimony sooner than prosecutors rested their case on Monday. Prosecutors have argued that Hussain got rid of an out-of-service sticky label from the limo’s windshield previous to the crash, Albany ABC associate WTEN reported.

The protection filed a movement in search of to brush aside the fees towards Hussain, which the pass judgement on denied, announcing there may be enough proof for the second-degree manslaughter counts, in step with WTEN.

The protection didn’t name any witnesses sooner than resting on Monday.

Jurors deliberated for a number of hours on Tuesday and Wednesday sooner than attaining their verdict. He was once found guilty of all 20 counts of second-degree manslaughter, his best price within the case.

Gasps and crying might be heard within the court as the decision was once learn.

Hussain, who have been out on bail all through the trial, was once remanded into custody following the decision. His sentencing listening to has been scheduled for May 31. He faces as much as 15 years in jail.

During the trial, protection attorney Lee Kindlon argued the twist of fate was once led to by means of inaccurate restore paintings at the brake machine, in step with The Associated Press.

“I’m heartbroken,” Kindlon advised journalists outdoor the courthouse when requested in regards to the verdict. “Over the course of the past four-and-a-half years, I’ve developed a relationship — either a close personal relationship with my client, his family, his extended family overseas, but I’ve also existed in an outer layer with all the victims’ families.”

“Now at the end of this chapter of the case, I’m just heartbroken for everybody involved,” he persisted.

Kindlon says he plans to enchantment the decision.

Schoharie County District Attorney Susan Mallery, who prosecuted the case, thanked the jury for “listening to the evidence.”

“Today is actually in regards to the households,” Mallery told reporters.

The incident was the deadliest transportation crash in the U.S. since 2009.

In the wake of the incident, then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a ban on stretch limos, among other reforms.

ABC News’ Amanda Maile contributed to this document.