The operator of Prestige Limousine was arrested Wednesday and charged with one count of criminally negligent homicide, days after one of the company’s limousines crashed into a parked SUV in a store parking lot, killing 20 people in Upstate New York, authorities said.
At a news conference Wednesday, state police Superintendent George P. Beach said Nauman Hussain had previously been served written violations by the state police and the New York Department of Transportation that the limo driver, Scott T. Lisinicchia, 53, was not licensed to be operating the vehicle. Further, Hussain knew about the state inspection in September that resulted in the vehicle being ordered out of service, officials said.
“The sole responsibility for that motor vehicle being on the road on Saturday rests with Nauman Hussain,” Beach said.
After the crash, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) highlighted Prestige’s spotty safety record and said owner Shahed Hussain had “a lot of questions to answer.” The company’s three vehicles had failed state and federal compliance inspections — and the vehicle involved in the crash had failed a state inspection a month prior, officials said. Investigators said this week that Shahed Hussain was out of the country.
Beach said it was unknown whether additional charges would be filed against Nauman Hussain — who was running the company’s day-to-day operations — or whether his father would be charged in the case. Hussain’s attorney, Lee Kindlon, told reporters his client was “not guilty” and police “jumped the gun” on bringing charges, according to USA Today.
"My client is not guilty. Police jumped the gun in bringing charges," Lee Kindlon, Hussain's attorney, told reporters https://t.co/0PL35fttkZ pic.twitter.com/XyszGFJGVq
— Joseph Spector (@GannettAlbany) October 10, 2018
Beach said Hussain would be arraigned Wednesday evening, and a judge would determine his bail or bond status then.
Meanwhile, Beach said, the criminal probe is continuing.
Shahed Hussain remains overseas, authorities said.
“It’s not within my legal authority to ask him to come back from out of the country,” Beach said.