Authorities in New York have revealed the cause of death for all 20 people killed in an limo crash upstate earlier this month.
The New York Daily News reports that law enforcement officials confirmed a medical examiner’s report that all 20 victims died of blunt force trauma, including the 18 people inside the rented limo and two pedestrians hit by the car after it ran through a red light in Schoharie on October 6 and crashing through the parking lot at the Apple Valley Country Store.
Officials told the New York Daily News that Rensselaer County Chief Medical ExaminerDr. Michael Sikirica had notified the New York State Police of the autopsy results, but that toxicology results were still pending.
Multiple married couples and a group of four sisters were among the passengers killed in the crash. The driver, Scott Lisinicchia, was reportedly not properly licensed to drive the vehicle, which had failed an inspection just a month before.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told reporters at the Columbus Day Parade in New York City that the SUV stretch limo was not supposed to be on the road at the time of the crash.
Sources reportedly told the New York Daily News that following the failed inspection, the vehicle had a large sticker on it with the warning: “This vehicle is NOT to be operated until repaired.”
It is not known if the sticker was removed before the car was put into service on October 6. Two days before, the owners of Prestige Limousine, which operated the vehicle, reportedly placed the limo up for sale on Craigslist for $9,000.
Nauman Hussain, who had been operating Prestige Limousine while his father, the owner, was in Pakistan with health issues, has been arrested and charged with criminally negligent homicide. When police apprehended Hussain, he was reportedly in a car with his brother that contained multiple pieces of luggage.
“The sole responsibility for that motor vehicle being on the road on Saturday rests with Nauman Hussain,” State Police Superintendent George Beach said, according to the Daily News.
“That vehicle was placed out of service by the Department of Transportation in September of this year and should not have been on the road.”
Hussain pleaded not guilty, and has been released on $150,000 bond.
[Feature image: AP Photo/Hans Pennink]
