Five years ago today, a limousine carrying 17 young adults to a birthday celebration came hurtling down a hill at up to 118 mph before crashing in a wooded area near a shop in Schoharie, killing all the passengers, the driver and two pedestrians.
Among those whose lives ended that day were four sisters, a pair of brothers, two newly married couples, cousins, friends, and Patrick Cushing, 30, a standout dodgeball player.
The crash and its toll left grief and and years of frustration in its wake, as the victims’ families searched for answers. And while the families of those lost obtained some answers this year at a criminal trial that ended with a conviction, Cushing’s father, Kevin Cushing, recalled the years-long effort as filled with ups and downs, unnecessarily difficult.
“The process, the criminal process, was horrible for all of us,” Kevin Cushing said in an interview ahead of the five-year anniversary of his son’s death.
While criminal charges were filed shortly after the crash against Nuaman Hussain, the operator of Prestige Limousine, the case became bogged down for years.
About two years after the crash, a final National Transportation Safety Board report blamed Prestige Limousine and its “disregard for safety” as factors in the crash. Prosecutors said Hussain knowingly put an unsafe limo on the road.
The report also named the state and the Department of Motor Vehicles for a lack of oversight in inspections and failing to properly register the limo.
But even with the NTSB findings, a plea agreement moved forward: five years probation for Hussain, 1,000 hours community service and no jail time.
That displeased families, to put it mildly.
“We just thought, well, we have somebody that’s responsible directly, indirectly, whatever the case might be, for the death of 20 people,” Kevin Cushing said. “There needs to be something done about this more than a plea deal.”
Families were pushed to move toward a plea bargain as opposed to a trial, Kevin Cushing recalled.
“And we were all very, very unhappy with that. But it looked like that was what was going to happen,” he said.
In August 2022, families were told the end of the criminal process was nearing, and they could move on with their lives, Kevin Cushing recalled. But he didn’t want to see Hussain walk free.
“We didn’t feel that was justice, not even the beginning of justice,” he said.
Family and friends gather at a candlelight vigil days after the crash in Schoharie. (Spectrum News 1/File)
He remembered the day Judge Peter Lynch unexpectedly threw out the plea bargain, citing, in part, the families’ emotional victim-impact statements.
“I mean, it just took the air out of our lungs. We were like, holy, this is amazing. I mean, it seemed like some part of the criminal justice system was looking out after us and after our children,” Kevin Cushing said.
In May, Hussain was convicted of 20 counts of manslaughter and sentenced to 5-15 years in prison, setting off celebrations among family members in the courtroom in what was a heart-wrenching day.
But five years after losing his son, Kevin Cushing says no one has directly taken responsibility for what happened. He has not heard from Hussain.
“We never heard one bit of remorse on his part,” he said. “And that disturbs me.”
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