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53-year-old Scott Lisinicchia has been identified of the driver of the limo that crashed in New York State on Saturday, October 6, killing himself, all 18 passengers, and two pedestrians. The tragedy is the deadliest transportation accident in the United States in nine years.
According to police, the 2001 Ford Excursion limo being driven by Lisinicchia was traveling southwest on State Route 30 when it sped through an intersection with State Route 30 A and collided with an SUV in a parking lot. The incident happened around 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 3, in Schoharie, New York.
The driver, all 18 passengers, and the two pedestrians that were standing near the parked 2015 Toyota Highlander were also killed.
Witness reports from the scene of the crash said that the limo was traveling approximately 60mph when it ran through a stop sign before blowing into the parked 2015 Toyota Highlander.
The Washington Post reports that Erin McGowan, a passenger on the limo who died alongside new husband Shane, texted her aunt Valerie Abeling to say that the limo was “in terrible condition.”
Additionally, Abeling said the group had originally rented a bus to take them to the party venue, however, it broke down, which caused the transportation company to send a limo to take the group the rest of the way.
via Washington Post:
Authorities said a 2001 Ford Excursion limousine traveling southwest on State Route 30 “failed to stop” at an intersection with State Route 30A and flew into the parking lot of the nearby Apple Barrel Country Store and Cafe.
The limousine struck an unoccupied 2015 Toyota Highlander, New York State Police First Deputy Superintendent Christopher Fiore said at a news conference Sunday. Two pedestrians standing nearby were fatally struck, Fiore said.
Schoharie Town Supervisor Alan Tavenner described how two state highways meet at the bottom of a steep hill at a T-shaped intersection. The limo blew past the stop sign at speeds upward of 60 mph, according to witness accounts, Tavenner said.
Tavenner said the New York Department of Transportation outlawed heavy trucks on the hill in recent years because of instances when runaway trucks lost their ability to brake down the steep grade. He said the limo was carrying out-of-towners during a busy tourist weekend, Stone Fort Days.
On Monday, October 8, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has said that Lisinicchia did not have a license to operate that kind of vehicle andt that the limousine had recently failed an inspection and should not have been in operation.
New York authorities are currently investigating the crash, as Governor Cuomo said state agencies should “provide every resource necessary” to investigate the crash.
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