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A limo crash in New York has killed 20 people. The vehicle sped downhill towards an intersection of two highways, hit a stop sign, and crashed into a parked SUV. Two nearby pedestrians were also struck and killed:
[Read the latest: A passenger expressed concern about the limo shortly before the crash.]
The 17 friends had all piled into a white stretch limousine for what was supposed to have been a birthday celebration at an upstate New York brewery. But they never reached their destination. [...] The crash killed all 18 occupants of the limousine, including the driver, as well as two pedestrians, in an accident that left deep tire tracks in the ground and the small town about 40 miles west of Albany reeling.
[...] In an afternoon news conference outside Albany, the State Police offered few details about the accident, though Christopher Fiore, first deputy superintendent of the State Police, said that the limousine had been licensed in New York. Its driver was required to wear a seatbelt; its passengers in the back were not, he said. Only one person inside the limousine apparently survived the initial impact; that person later died after being flown in a helicopter to an Albany hospital.
Stretch limousines are modified after manufacturing and are generally not subject to the same safety regulations that are imposed on the protective structures for passenger cars. Such oversized vehicles have been involved in tragic accidents in New York before: In 2015, a limo carrying a bridal party of eight women crashed with a pickup truck in Cutchogue, N.Y., killing four people.
Further details show that the ride should never have happened:
The modified limo that crashed and killed 20 people wasn't even supposed to be on the road, New York's governor said Monday. On top of that, the driver "did not have the appropriate driver's license to be operating that vehicle," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. The startling revelations bring more anguish to those grieving the deaths of 20 people in the quaint town of Schoharie. [...] "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," Cuomo said.
A relatively local paper out of Albany, NY — The Times Union — has additional information on the crash. The intersection lies at the bottom of a hill on a road with a 50 mph (~85 kph) speed limit. There have been several accidents there before, some involving tractor trailers.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday October 09 2018, @08:48AM (16 children)
What I don't get, what's the fascination/attraction in using those stretch limousines?
I'd rather hire a bus or a train car, be them customised but with enough room to stand and move around, I see those limos more like a sarcophagus in the space available to move.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Nuke on Tuesday October 09 2018, @09:26AM (5 children)
I have never been in one but I can see the attraction for special occasions. They are just posh people carriers and I see nothing wrong with that in principle.
Some commentators are complaining that stretch limos are not made to adequate standards and are too big for the roads (even in the USA? Have they never seen a bus or truck?). As far as build standards go, that may be an issue for another day, but in this case the limo had recently failed a roadworthiness check but was still being hired out by a known criminal and illegal immigrant who was tolerated because he was a police informer. The reported lack of any skid marks is a clue as to the cause of the crash.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 09 2018, @11:06AM (3 children)
You don't see a problem with allowing an unsafe vehicle on public roads for the sole reason of letting idiots flaunt their wealth and class? If it was up to me, we wouldn't have open roofs, motorcycles or two sitters on the roads. Even if the risk of them crashing into someone else was eliminated, whenever an emergency responder is occupied by their shenanigans, someone else might be laying on the road elsewhere waiting for an ambulance or bleeding out on an emergency room bed as the paramedics / doctors are finishing up with the weekend Schumacher.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 09 2018, @11:18AM
THERE SHOULD BE NO CONSUMER CARS ON THE ROADS AT ALL. Those people are mostly drunk.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by tangomargarine on Tuesday October 09 2018, @03:13PM
It sounds like this one was only unsafe because it wasn't maintained properly. You want to get rid of buses, too?
Two-seaters? What possible safety complaint can you have against blanket-statement every car with less than 4 capacity?
So what you're saying is you just don't want the average citizen to be able to drive.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 09 2018, @03:42PM
"If it was up to me, we wouldn't have open roofs, motorcycles or two sitters on the roads."
-
It's not up to you, you pathetic worthless whining bitch.
SHUT THE FUCK UP BEFORE SOMEONE ELSE SHUTS YOU UP.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Tuesday October 09 2018, @01:24PM
If skid marks are found they can be useful data, but there are several factors which could exclude usefulness including slightest condensation / dampness, oil film, mud / dirt film, etc.
Also, if the limo had operational anti-lock brakes, skid marks won't likely happen:
https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=119188 [ncjrs.gov]
(Score: 4, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 09 2018, @09:54AM (3 children)
Apparently, they rented a *bus*. Then the bus broke down and the company sent them that limo instead as replacement so they are not stranded. The company seems shady.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/08/nyregion/prestige-limousine-crash-schoharie.html [nytimes.com]
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday October 09 2018, @11:09AM
Fuck! A nasty way to go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 4, Interesting) by bradley13 on Tuesday October 09 2018, @06:50PM (1 child)
The Limo company is owned by a criminal Pakistani who was apparently set up in this business as an FBI informant. It turns out that his vehicles aren't road worthy and his drivers aren't trained or licensed.
What culpability does the FBI have, for creating this situation?
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 09 2018, @09:59PM
None. Sovereign immunity.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday October 09 2018, @11:33AM (2 children)
I used to do client work for Tiffany's in Parsippany, NJ. The car service they used occasionally ran out of the regular town cars, so they sent actual limousines instead. They are a silly vehicle. When the driver accelerates, you slide all the way to the back. When he brakes, you slide all the way to the front. The interiors are supposed to be luxurious, but to me they seemed cheesy. Cheap crystal decanters full of liquor in the back? Who in the 21st century still thinks that it's OK to drink in a car? Then there's the chauffeur wearing his little cap. It's ridiculous. Some people actually get a rush off of having a servant in a little uniform bow and scrape to them?
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Tuesday October 09 2018, @03:08PM (1 child)
If you're not driving, why not? Although it may take some effort to avoid spilling on yourself, depending on the driver.
Who the heck cares? This is a silly complaint. Chill.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 09 2018, @05:58PM
Ahaha, you still drink?
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Tuesday October 09 2018, @06:02PM (2 children)
I don't see how a party bus with people walking around is any more safe than a limo. Any ground vehicle that allows passengers to move freely around inside them is going to be dangerous. Perhaps a limo can be safe-enough at 35mph city street level driving. Though even a speed limit following 35+35 mph head on collision is bound to be fatal for someone not in a proper seat with a safety belt.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by urza9814 on Tuesday October 09 2018, @06:38PM (1 child)
The difference is literal tons* of inertia. Ever been on a bus that hit something? I was in a bus that hit a deer once, badly enough that the driver had to pull over to remove some of it from the front grill. That was on an interstate highway, probably around 55+MPH. I wasn't aware that we'd hit anything until after we pulled over to stop. Hitting a deer in a car without a seatbelt can throw you right through the front windshield; but hit that same deer in a bus and you'd barely spill your drink. You *might* fall over if you're walking down the aisle and not holding on to the seats or anything but I doubt you'd be injured all that badly.
Granted, if you drive off a cliff or ram into a *really strong* brick wall you're still dead, but I don't think seatbelts would make much of a difference in that situation. Otherwise, there's not a hell of a lot on the roads that can cause a bus to come to a fast enough stop to actually throw people from their seats, so there's not as much reason to need a belt. A limo ain't a bus though...those things should probably have seatbelts. The modifications they make don't add anywhere near the amount of mass that you'd find on a bus.
* Here's the numbers:
My 4 door sedan's "curb weight": 3,500 lbs
Curb weight of some random stretch limo I found online: 4,500 lbs
Curb weight of a passenger bus: 40,000 lbs
My car: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_G6 [wikipedia.org]
The limo: https://www.uship.com/shipment/2007-Lincoln-Town-Car-120-stretch-limo-2/140576215/ [uship.com]
The bus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MCI_102DL3_%26_D4500 [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Tuesday October 09 2018, @06:59PM
That's a very interesting point. Though in the article's case, it was a limo in a severe state of disrepair hitting a parked car and pedestrians. I expect a party bus in a similar state of disrepair would be just as dangerous.
A 20 passenger bus would be closer to 10,000 lbs. Though I think the real advantage would be that it is actually designed to be a vehicle instead of just cut up with a sawzall like a limo with no regard to safety.
Granted, I don't think I would board a limo or a party bus that would be doing highway speeds.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh