A court in upstate New York has shockingly rejected a year-old plea deal that would have allowed a limo business operator to escape jail time for his part in a disaster that killed 20 people.
The victims’ families cheered the court’s decision on Wednesday in Schoharie, which left limo owner Nauman Hussain’s future in doubt after he admitted to criminally negligent homicide.
State Supreme Court Justice Peter Lynch, who was not presiding over the case when the bargain was negotiated last September in Hussain’s case, branded the accord ‘fundamentally defective’.’
Hussain’s family would have been upset and he would not have served jail time for the brake failure that sent a stretch limo packed of birthday partygoers flying down a hill in 2018.
The judge’s denial surprised the attorneys and family members.
Following the judge’s ruling, family members who had just finished speaking about their sorrow and rage over the fact that no one had been held responsible for the fatal collision cheered and wiped their eyes.
I find it difficult to express my feelings. Absolutely surprising Thank God,’ said Jill Richardson-Perez, the mother of Matthew Coons, the limo accident victim, as she left the courtroom. “I’m better now,” she said.
The families “have a hope for a little of justice to be given in the future, when we didn’t have any justice served in the past,” Kevin Cushing, who lost his son Patrick in the accident, said.
They were “shocked,” according to defence counsel Chad Seigel, and the judge’s action was “unheard of.”
In the worst U.S. transportation accident in a decade, Hussain, the owner of Prestige Limousine, was charged with 20 charges of criminally negligent murder and 20 counts of second-degree manslaughter.
According to the terms of the deal, Hussain would have received five years of probation and 1,000 hours of community service if he had just admitted guilt to the murder charges.
Last year, attorneys for both sides said that the plea bargain ensured a conclusion in a matter where a jury trial would have left the verdict unknown.
Lynch pointed out that a month before the collision, the state Department of Transportation had slapped an out-of-service label on the vehicle.
After Hussain’s arrest, state police found the sticker on his own vehicle. Hussain allegedly removed the sticker off the limo’s windshield in order to utilise it for more jobs, according to the prosecution.
The court believed Hussain recognised the risks involved in operating the limousine on the day of the collision because of his conduct, and a guilty plea to just criminally negligent murder does not adequately represent that.
When a person is charged with second-degree manslaughter, it is alleged that they were aware of the possibility of death but chose to dismiss it.
The agreement, according to Lynch, is “totally dishonest and unacceptable to this court.”
Hussain could have chosen to retract his guilty plea or accept a sentence of one and a third to four years in jail, according to Lynch. The latter was picked.
Collectively, we determined that putting this issue to rest would be in the best interests of everyone concerned, including our client and the community members.
That was given a small monkey wrench,’ Seigel added. We are now prepared for trial because the court pressed our hand.
Susan Mallery, the district attorney, departed the court without saying anything.
Hussain, who spent the most of the proceedings with his head down, chose not to remark afterward.
Although the National Transportation Safety Agency came to the conclusion that Prestige Limousine’s ‘egregious disregard for safety’ led the brakes to fail, the board also said that inefficient state monitoring had a role in the disaster.
Hussain’s attorneys claim that he made an effort to maintain the vehicle and relied on the information provided to him by state authorities and a repair facility that examined it.
On October 6, 2018, Axel Steenburg booked a 2001 Ford Excursion limousine for his wife Amy’s 30th birthday.
The party group comprised Axel’s brother, Amy’s three sisters and two of their spouses, as well as close acquaintances.
The group’s members ranged in age from 24 to 34.
The limousine’s brakes failed on a downward section of road near Schoharie, west of Albany, on the way to a brewery. At almost 100 mph, the car sped past a stop sign before crashing into a tiny ravine.
The limo driver, 17 passengers, and two onlookers outside the shop were all killed in the collision.
Hussain allegedly let passengers travel in the vehicle despite having received “several notifications of infractions” from the state and being informed that the repairs were insufficient, according to Mallery’s office.
The vehicle’s braking issues, which were discovered during an inspection a month before to the collision, should have been pulled out of service, according to state police.
On September 14, the next court appearance is scheduled. Hussain, who had finished a year of provisional probation, will be released on bail and will have his GPS location tracked.
Lynch finally disclosed his choice after numerous relatives discussed their ongoing grief and feeling of loss.
Shane McGowan, 30, was just starting his life with Erin McGowan, his new wife, who was also travelling in the limo, according to Sheila McGarvey, who testified in court.
McGarvey said, “I shout out my kid Shane’s name constantly, but no one replies.