SCHOHARIE — Nauman Hussain will serve at least five years in prison for his role in putting a derelict stretch limousine on the road the day its brakes failed on a steep hill, resulting in a crash that took the lives of 20 people.
State Supreme Court Justice Peter Lynch on Wednesday sentenced the 33-year-old operator of Prestige Limousine to the maximum of five to 15 years in prison two weeks after a jury found him guilty of 20 counts of second-degree manslaughter in the Oct. 6, 2018, crash in the Schoharie countryside.
Before the judge imposed his sentence, Hussain heard from the victims’ devastated families.
“When Savannah died, part of me died with her,” said Kim Burnese, whose daughter was among 17 friends who rented the limo to safely transport them to a friend’s birthday celebration. “She did the right thing, and it cost her her life.”
Hussain, who has been in custody since his conviction, arrived in a packed courtroom shackled and wearing an orange jail uniform. Before Lynch announced his decision, the families of those who lost their lives delivered victim-impact statements that described the loss of their loved ones and assailed the 33-year-old for failing to take responsibility for his reckless conduct.
Kevin Cushing, whose son Patrick died in the crash, noted that the devastation would likely have never occurred if Hussain had been willing to pay a few thousand dollars on proper brake repairs; he vowed to appear at Hussain’s parole hearings. Others said that while the trial had brought a measure of resolution, the gaping wound left by the absence of so many young lives would never heal.
The victims’ loved ones spoke for more than an hour before Lynch took a break in the proceedings and then returned to the bench to deliver the sentence. Hussain remained silent throughout.
After the sentencing, Cushing and other…
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