Nauman Hussain, the operator of the nyc executive limo service company responsible for the deadliest crash in the US since 2009, has been found guilty of 20 counts of second-degree manslaughter by a jury and now faces up to 15 years in prison.
The 2018 crash in upstate New York left 20 people dead after a Prestige Limousine failed to brake and went through an intersection, crashing into a parked Toyota Highlander at 100mph.
The SUV then struck two pedestrians outside Apple Barrel Café.
The limo, which had been rented by a group celebrating a 30th birthday party, smashed into a shallow ravine and came to a stop on the embankment.
The driver, 17 passengers and the two pedestrians were killed. Among them were four sisters and their husbands.
It later emerged the limousine had failed an inspection by the state's Department of Motor Vehicles the previous month, but Hussain removed an out-of-service sticker from the limo's windshield.
Hussain appears in court after his plea deal was overturned by Supreme Court Justice Peter Lynch
The brakes failed on Hussain's white limo, causing it to slam through an intersection and crash into a ditch
The jurors deliberated for several hours on Tuesday and Wednesday before reaching their verdict.
Family and friends of the victims could be heard gasping and crying as it was read aloud to the packed courtroom in Schoharie County, southwest of Albany, today.
Hussain is seen being arrested in October 2018
The driver was also found to have been operating without the appropriate license for the 31-foot-long, five-ton 2001 Ford Excursion vehicle on October 6, 2018.
The vehicle's brakes had failed at 60mph, allowing the vehicle to career down a long hill, eventually reaching speeds of about 100mph, a 2020 report by the National Transportation Safety Board found.
Hussain now awaits his sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for May 31.
He ran the unlicensed limo company out of a motel his family owned in the town of Wilton, 40 miles north of Albany.
Hussain accepted a plea deal in September 2021, agreeing to five years of probation and 1,000 hours of community service - an agreement that relatives of the victims found infuriatingly lenient.
In August 2022, state Supreme Court Justice Peter Lynch overturned the plea deal and forced Hussain to stand trial.
New York State Police said the 2001 Ford Excursion limousine failed to stop at the intersection of State Route 30 and State Route 30A around 1.55pm in Schoharie, near Albany
Sisters Allison King (back row, second from left) Abby Jackson (front left), Amy Steenburg (front right) and Mary Dyson (back row, on the right of Allison) were all killed in the crash
Amy Steenburg was celebrating her 30th birthday and was killed in the crash along with her husband Axel
Newlyweds Erin and Shane McGowan (left) and Patrick Cushing, Erin's cousin, was killed in the crash alongside his girlfriend Amanda Halse (right) died in the crash
Victims Amy Steenburg (left picture) is pictured right with her husband Axel (on the left) and his brother Rich (right). Rich was also killed in the crash. Abby Jackson and her husband Adam are seen (right)
The verdict caps a nearly five-year fight for justice by the families of the victims.
Hussain, who had been out on bail during the trial, was remanded into custody following the verdict.
Special prosecutor Frederick Rench told jurors during his closing statement that 'Mr. Hussain caused the deaths of the victims by failing in his duty to ensure the vehicle was roadworthy.
'There is no doubt as to what his duty was.'
Amanda Rivenburg (left) died in the crash along with Michael Ukaj (right)
Brian Hough was a professor and was one of the pedestrians killed in the wreck
Scott Lisinicchia, 53, was the driver behind the wheel of the 2001 Ford Excursion that crashed. He is pictured with his wife Kim
The trial, which had been delayed by Covid restrictions, rested after six days despite expectations it would take weeks.
The trial had struggled to select a jury from the small rural town as so many had been affected by the crash.
Schoharie County District Attorney Susan Mallery, Hussain's attorneys and Lynch agreed prior to the trial that a pool of 1,500 potential jurors would be needed - a figure that represents 5 percent of Schoharie County's population.
Kindlon, Hussain's attorney, told Lynch at the time: 'I think finding a jury is going to be difficult.'
The lawyers questioned 90 prospective jurors per day before building the eventual panel of 12 who found Hussain guilty.
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The 2018 crash in upstate New York left 20 people dead after a Prestige Limousine failed to brake and went through an intersection, crashing into a parked Toyota Highlander at 100mph.
The SUV then struck two pedestrians outside Apple Barrel Café.
The limo, which had been rented by a group celebrating a 30th birthday party, smashed into a shallow ravine and came to a stop on the embankment.
The driver, 17 passengers and the two pedestrians were killed. Among them were four sisters and their husbands.
It later emerged the limousine had failed an inspection by the state's Department of Motor Vehicles the previous month, but Hussain removed an out-of-service sticker from the limo's windshield.
Hussain appears in court after his plea deal was overturned by Supreme Court Justice Peter Lynch
The brakes failed on Hussain's white limo, causing it to slam through an intersection and crash into a ditch
The jurors deliberated for several hours on Tuesday and Wednesday before reaching their verdict.
Family and friends of the victims could be heard gasping and crying as it was read aloud to the packed courtroom in Schoharie County, southwest of Albany, today.
Hussain is seen being arrested in October 2018
The driver was also found to have been operating without the appropriate license for the 31-foot-long, five-ton 2001 Ford Excursion vehicle on October 6, 2018.
The vehicle's brakes had failed at 60mph, allowing the vehicle to career down a long hill, eventually reaching speeds of about 100mph, a 2020 report by the National Transportation Safety Board found.
Hussain now awaits his sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for May 31.
He ran the unlicensed limo company out of a motel his family owned in the town of Wilton, 40 miles north of Albany.
Hussain accepted a plea deal in September 2021, agreeing to five years of probation and 1,000 hours of community service - an agreement that relatives of the victims found infuriatingly lenient.
In August 2022, state Supreme Court Justice Peter Lynch overturned the plea deal and forced Hussain to stand trial.
New York State Police said the 2001 Ford Excursion limousine failed to stop at the intersection of State Route 30 and State Route 30A around 1.55pm in Schoharie, near Albany
Sisters Allison King (back row, second from left) Abby Jackson (front left), Amy Steenburg (front right) and Mary Dyson (back row, on the right of Allison) were all killed in the crash
Amy Steenburg was celebrating her 30th birthday and was killed in the crash along with her husband Axel
Newlyweds Erin and Shane McGowan (left) and Patrick Cushing, Erin's cousin, was killed in the crash alongside his girlfriend Amanda Halse (right) died in the crash
Victims Amy Steenburg (left picture) is pictured right with her husband Axel (on the left) and his brother Rich (right). Rich was also killed in the crash. Abby Jackson and her husband Adam are seen (right)
The verdict caps a nearly five-year fight for justice by the families of the victims.
Hussain, who had been out on bail during the trial, was remanded into custody following the verdict.
Special prosecutor Frederick Rench told jurors during his closing statement that 'Mr. Hussain caused the deaths of the victims by failing in his duty to ensure the vehicle was roadworthy.
'There is no doubt as to what his duty was.'
Amanda Rivenburg (left) died in the crash along with Michael Ukaj (right)
Brian Hough was a professor and was one of the pedestrians killed in the wreck
Scott Lisinicchia, 53, was the driver behind the wheel of the 2001 Ford Excursion that crashed. He is pictured with his wife Kim
The trial, which had been delayed by Covid restrictions, rested after six days despite expectations it would take weeks.
The trial had struggled to select a jury from the small rural town as so many had been affected by the crash.
Schoharie County District Attorney Susan Mallery, Hussain's attorneys and Lynch agreed prior to the trial that a pool of 1,500 potential jurors would be needed - a figure that represents 5 percent of Schoharie County's population.
Kindlon, Hussain's attorney, told Lynch at the time: 'I think finding a jury is going to be difficult.'
The lawyers questioned 90 prospective jurors per day before building the eventual panel of 12 who found Hussain guilty.
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