ALBANY -- The limousine in a deadly crash that killed 20 people in upstate New York on Saturday had failed inspection last month and the driver didn't have the appropriate license to operate the vehicle, Gov. Andrew Cuomo revealed Monday.
Cuomo said the limousine was owned by Prestige Limousine in the Albany area, but didn't have the necessary federal certification to operate and failed a state inspection just last month.
"The driver of the vehicle — the quote-unquote limousine — did not have the appropriate driver’s license to be operating that vehicle," Cuomo told reporters in Manhattan.
"Second, that vehicle was inspected by the New York state Department of Transportation last month and failed inspection and was not supposed to be on the road."
The revelations come as authorities continue to investigate the deadly crash that killed 17 passengers, the driver and two pedestrians in the rural town of Schoharie.
Cuomo said the 2001 Ford Excursion needed a federal certification to be operated as a limousine, but didn't have it. It also failed an on-site state inspection.
"The owners of the company had no business putting a failed vehicle on the roadway," he said.
The driver, according to media reports, was identified as Scott Lisinicchia. There has been no immediate comment from the limousine company.
The revelations come as authorities continue to investigate the deadly crash that killed 17 passengers, the driver and two pedestrians in the rural town of Schoharie on Saturday.
Cuomo said the 2001 Ford Excursion needed a federal certification to be operated as a limousine, but didn't have it. It also failed an on-site state inspection.
"The owners of the company had no business putting a failed vehicle on the roadway," he said.
There has been no immediate comment from the limousine company, which is based in Gansevoort, Saratoga County, records showed.
The passengers appeared to recognize problems with the limousine as they traveled in it.
Valerie Abeling told The Washington Post said her niece, Erin McGowan, 34, and her husband Shane, 30, were among the limousine victims, and Erin had sent a text message to Abeling's daughter complaining about the condition of the car.
McGowan, in fact, texted a friend, saying, "The motor is making everyone deaf," according to The New York Times.
Abeling said the limousine appeared to replace a bus the group had ordered for their trip to a Cooperstown brewery to celebrate a friend's 30th birthday.
Cuomo said the driver needed a commercial driver's license, but didn't have one.
He explained the SUV was what they call "chopped vehicle, which is what this limousine was. This was a Ford that was cut and extended."
As a result, it needed federal approval to operate as a limousine.
"This vehicle did not have that certification that it was extended in a way that was compliant with federal law," he said.
Meanwhile, an on-site inspection by the state in September also showed the vehicle was not safe for the road, he said, because it failed the inspection.
Cuomo said it was too soon to know if speed was a factor or if the crash was the result of a mechanical failure.
The state issued a cease-and-desist order to the company to stop operating in New York.
Cuomo said sometimes the answer isn't always new laws.
"So sometimes you say, "Well maybe we should inspect more frequently, maybe this, maybe this,'" Cuomo said.
"Sometimes people just don't follow the law. And that may very well be what happened here."
