Limousine operator convicted in 2018 accident that killed 20 people

SCHOHARIE, N.Y. — The operator of a New York limousine service was convicted on Wednesday of manslaughter stemming from a 2018 crash that killed 20 people.

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A jury in Schoharie County found Nauman Hussain, 33, guilty of 20 counts of second-degree manslaughter, the Times-Union of Albany reported.

On Oct. 6, 2018, all 17 passengers, the driver and two pedestrians outside a cafe in Schoharie were killed when the 31-foot long, 5-ton 2001 Ford Excursion stretch limousine crashed, according to The New York Times.

According to a 2020 report by the National Transportation Safety Board, the limousine’s brake systems failed, causing the vehicle to speed down a long hill to the valley below. The Times said that the limo topped speeds of more than 100 mph before the driver, Scott Lisinicchia, managed to avoid a car. However, the vehicle went through the intersection and struck an SUV, which then hit two pedestrians near the Apple Barrel cafe.

The limo then came to a stop on a nearby embankment, according to the newspaper.

The crash came after 17 friends from the Amsterdam area rented the limousine from Prestige Limousine & Chauffeur Service to attend a birthday celebration in Cooperstown, The Leader-Herald reported.

The jury deliberated for less than six hours before returning a guilty verdict, the Times-Union reported. Hussain faces five to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced on May 31, according to the newspaper.

Hussain’s lawyer, Lee Kindlon, told The Associated Press that his client had been misled by a repair shop. The shop, Mavis Discount Tire, was not criminally charged and denied it was at fault, according to WRGB-TV. The defense did not call any witnesses, according to the television station.

In June 2022, Apple Barrel paid $500,000 to the estates of the two customers who were killed in the store’s parking lot, the Times-Union reported. Brian Hough and his father-in-law, James Schnurr, from Cayuga County, were in the area for a wedding in Central Bridge along with Hough’s wife, Jaclyn Schnur, according to the newspaper.