Owner Of Schoharie Limo Company That Killed 20 People Gets No Jail Time

The owner of the limousine that was involved in the 2018 crash that killed 20 people in Schoharie County pleaded guilty in court yesterday and received his sentencing.

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One of the deadliest crashes in NY history occurred on October 6, 2018 in Schoharie County where 20 people were killed in a single accident. Limousine owner, 31-year old Nauman Hussain, appeared in court and pleaded guilty to 20 counts of Criminally Negligent Homicide.

According to News 10, Hussein‘s company, Prestige Limousine, owned the 2001 Ford Excursion limousine that was involved in the accident. According to court documents, the limousine went through a “T” intersection and ran into an SUV that was parked in the Apple Barrel Country Store’s parking lot. The crash killed the driver of the limousine, two bystanders, and all 17 passengers that were inside the vehicle.

A makeshift courtroom was set up in a Schoharie Central School’s gymnasium to accommodate the large crowd who showed up for the hearing. It’s believed that nearly 100 people appeared in the courtroom and 15 family members of the deceased presented impact statements to the court.

Judge George Barrett III accepted the plea deal. According to the terms of the deal, Hussein will be sentenced to five years of probation and be required to perform 1000 hours of community service. Judge Barrett concedes that the sentence may be too light, but believes that having a stiffer sentence may not have been possible due to issues with maintenance of the limousine.

Judge Barrett said, “It just does not seem right back 20 people lost their life and the sentence is probation and community service. But there are factual issues with regard to the defendant's guilt.”

Although this is not complete justice for the victims' families', hopefully they will get some sort of closure with yesterday’s ruling.