Limo in deadly crash was not supposed to be on the road, driver wasn’t properly licensed

The limousine involved in a fatal accident that killed 20 people in upstate New York this weekend had failed an inspection and was not supposed to be on the road.

According to the New York Post, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told reporters at a Columbus Day Parade in New York City that the limo provided by Prestige Limousine had failed a recent inspection and that driver wasn’t properly licensed.

“The driver of the vehicle, the quote-unquote limousine, did not have the appropriate license to be operating that vehicle. Second, that vehicle was inspected by the New York State Department of Transportation last month and failed inspection and was not supposed to be on the road,” Cuomo told reporters at the Columbus Day parade in Manhattan.

“The owner of the company — in my opinion, because there’ll be legal consequences — the owner of the company had no business putting [a] failed vehicle on the road.”

The company has been shut down while an investigation continues. Federal records obtained by KSFY show that the company has pulled four or its five vehicles off the road in the last two years, and the New York Post reports that the company had to suspend operations each time.

KSFY was unable to reach Prestige Limousine by phone on Monday.

 

[Feature image: Tom Heffernan Sr. via AP]