A former limo company operator will not serve prison time for his role in a deadly 2018 crash that claimed 20 lives.
On Thursday, 31-year-old Nauman Hussain received five years of probation and 1,000 hours of community service after pleading guilty to 20 counts of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
The horrific crash took place in Schoharie, New York, on October 6, 2018. Axel Steenburg hired Prestige Limousine of Wilton to celebrate his wife Amy’s 30th birthday. Seventeen people were inside the limo, and sadly, everyone on board was killed, in addition to two bystanders. The wreck became one of the nation’s deadliest transportation accidents.
Hussain operated Prestige, which was owned by his father Shahed, who was in Pakistan at the time of the crash. The younger Hussain was arrested shortly after the deadly collision and has remained on bail since.
A lengthy investigation noted that the back brakes on the 2001 stretch Ford Excursion had limited to no functions on the day of the crash. This left the front brakes to slow the 13,500-pound, 31-foot truck, which failed under the extensive weight of the vehicle. The probe also discovered that the driver, Scott Lisinicchia, had marijuana in his system on the day of the crash and was not licensed to operate that class of vehicle.
In addition to probation, Hussain was ordered to pay restitution for the costs of the wrecks emergency response. He is banned from working in any transportation-related job.
