Last month, a limousine crashed in upstate New York, killing 20 people. Now, the parents of one of the victims are suing the car’s operators, alleging gross negligence “in putting the dangerous and defective vehicle on the road.” The suit was filed by the parents of Amanda Rivenburg, who was 29-years-old at the time of the accident. She was among the 18 people riding in the limo when it “barreled through a stop sign at the bottom of a hill and crashed into a ravine in rural Schoharie, New York on Oct. 6.” In addition to the 18 vehicle passengers, two pedestrians were also killed in the accident.
Last month, a limousine crashed in upstate New York, killing 20 people. Now, the parents of one of the victims are suing the car’s operators, alleging gross negligence “in putting the dangerous and defective vehicle on the road.” The suit was filed by the parents of Amanda Rivenburg, who was 29-years-old at the time of the accident. She was among the 18 people riding in the limo when it “barreled through a stop sign at the bottom of a hill and crashed into a ravine in rural Schoharie, New York on Oct. 6.” In addition to the 18 vehicle passengers, two pedestrians were also killed in the accident.
The lawsuit, which happens to be the first filed in connection with the accident, is seeking unspecified damages from “Prestige limousine service owner Shahed Hussain and his son Nauman Hussain.” So far, Nauman Hussain “has pleaded not guilty to a charge of criminally negligent homicide,” and Shahed Hussain is in Pakistan, according to police.
So why does the lawsuit argue that the vehicle operator and limousine service was negligent? Well, according to the lawsuit, the limousine operators allegedly “kept it on the road after it failed inspection for brake problems and other issues.” Apparently, “a windshield sticker placed on the limousine by state transportation officials deeming the vehicle ‘unserviceable’ was removed before the accident,” according to the suit.
As a result, the damages the lawsuit is seeking is based “on the grossly negligent, willful misconduct and complete indifference exemplified by the defendants and their conscious disregard to the health and safety of the patrons.”
While a lawyer representing both Nauman and Shahed has yet to respond to requests for comment regarding the pending litigation, Robert Sumwalt, a chairman with the National Transportation Safety Board said the accident itself was the “deadliest transportation-related accident in the U.S. since February 2009, when 50 people were killed after a Continental Airlines regional flight crashed into a house near Buffalo, N.Y.”
Local officials also chimed in shortly after the accident saying the intersection involved in the accident “was dangerous, with the potential to cause a deadly crash.” Over the years, local officials had attempted to make the intersection safer, but none of the improvements have managed to improve the safety of the intersections. In fact, Schoharie Town Supervisor Alan Tavenner said, “There have been tractor trailers that have come barreling down that hill and it was a miracle they didn’t kill somebody…I honestly think it was a more dangerous intersection than it was before.”
Sources:
Family of woman killed in NY limo crash files lawsuit against operators
Deadly limo crash: First lawsuit filed in horrific accident that killed 20
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