The limousine involved in an upstate New York crash that killed 20 people over the weekend failed inspection last month, and its driver did not have the proper license to operate the vehicle, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday.
Saturday's accident, which killed two pairs of newlyweds, four sisters from one family and two brothers from another, was the deadliest US transport crash in nearly a decade, according to federal authorities.
Cuomo identified the company that owned the 2001 Ford Excursion limousine as Prestige Limousine, a small company based in Gansevoort, New York, according to federal Department of Transportation records.
Distraught family members take in the scene in Schoharie, New York, one day after an accident that left 20 people dead, October 7, 2018. /VCG Photo
All three of the company's vehicles had violations when they were inspected last month, the records show.
The inspection of the limousine that crashed turned up several violations at the time, including anti-lock brake malfunction indicators and inoperative or defective windshield wipers. The company only employed two drivers, according to the records.
At New York City's Columbus Day Parade on Monday, Cuomo said that Prestige Limousine was being sent a cease-and-desist order to halt operations until authorities could investigate. The driver, who was killed in the crash, has not been identified.
Before the limousine crashed on the way to a birthday party, one of the victims, Erin McGowan, texted a friend that the limousine appeared to have engine trouble, according to the New York Times.
State troopers keep the area secure at the scene of Saturday's limousine accident in upstate New York, in Schoharie, New York, October 8, 2018. /VCG Photo
"The motor is making everyone deaf," McGowan was quoted by the Times as saying.
Robert Sumwalt, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), said on Monday that the accident should be "a wake-up call" for limousine safety.
The NTSB is investigating the crash and will look at safety regulations for limousines, whose passengers are not required to wear seatbelts.
Family members sign a banner in memory of their loved ones during a candlelight vigil for the victims of a limousine accident in New York, October 8, 2018. /VCG Photo
The owner of Prestige Limousine, Shahed Hussain, shares the same name and address as that of a former FBI informant who appeared as a witness in two US cases in which prosecutors brought terrorism charges against defendants, transportation and federal court records showed.
Hussain could not be reached for comment on Monday. The phone line at Prestige Limousine was disconnected.
Hussain was charged in 2002 with helping people illegally obtain driver's licenses and eventually became an informant against his co-conspirators in the license scheme.