SCHOHARIE, N.Y. (AP) — A judge rejected a plea agreement that would have meant no prison time for the operator of a limousine company involved in a crash that killed 20 people in upstate New York, drawing applause and tears Wednesday from victims’ relatives who packed the court.
Judge Peter Lynch called the agreement “fundamentally flawed.”
Prosecutors and lawyers for Nauman Hussain had reached a deal a year ago that would have spared him prison time, angering the families of the people killed in 2018 when brake failure sent a stretch limo full of birthday revelers hurtling down a hill.
Hussain, who operated Prestige Limousine, had been charged with 20 counts each of criminally negligent homicide and second-degree manslaughter in what was the deadliest U.S. transportation disaster in a decade. The agreement called for Hussain to plead guilty only to the homicide counts, resulting five years of probation and 1,000 hours of community service.
Michael Hill, The Associated Press
