The former operator of a New York limo company will not go to prison for his role in a 2018 crash that killed 20 people.
According to NPR and other outlets covering the hearing, Nauman was sentenced to five years of probation and 1,000 hours of community service. He pleaded guilty to 20 counts of criminally negligent homicide. Prosecutors had also filed 20 counts of second degree manslaughter against him, but he did not plead guilty to those.
The crash happened on October 6, 2018, in Schoharie, New York, when a stretch limousine carrying a group celebrating a birthday failed to stop at an intersection. All 17 people in the vehicle were killed, along with two pedestrians. It remains one of the deadliest transportation accidents in the country in years.
The Schoharie County District Attorney’s office said Nauman ran Prestige Limousine and let passengers ride despite multiple notices of violation. State police said the vehicle should have been pulled from service after brake problems turned up in an inspection a month before the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board later said the crash was likely caused by the company’s disregard for safety, with weak state oversight also playing a part.
Nauman’s attorney, Lee Kindlon, said his client tried to keep the limo maintained and relied on what state officials and a repair shop told him about its condition.
Family members of the victims spoke at the hearing. One mother said she had lost her son and wanted more accountability for the people responsible.
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