Limo on way to birthday party blows stop sign; 20 killed
SCHOHARIE, N.Y. — A limousine on its way to a birthday party blew a stop sign at the end of a highway and plowed into a parked but unoccupied SUV, killing all 18 people in the limo and two pedestrians in the deadliest U.S. transportation accident in almost a decade, officials and a relative of one of the victims said Sunday.
The collision turned a relaxed Saturday afternoon into chaos at an upstate New York spot popular with tourists taking in the fall foliage, with witnesses reporting bodies on the ground and broken tree limbs everywhere. An aunt of one of the victims in the vehicle said the group had been on the way to a birthday celebration.
The 2001 Ford Excursion limousine was traveling southwest on Route 30 in Schoharie, about 170 miles north of New York City around 2 p.m. when it failed to stop at a T-junction with state Route 30A, State Police First Deputy Superintendent Christopher Fiore said at a news conference in Latham, New York.
It went across the road and hit an unoccupied vehicle parked at the Apple Barrel Country Store, killing the driver and 17 passengers, as well as two people outside of the vehicle.
Read more: https://www.statesman.com/zz/news/20181007/limo-on-way-to-birthday-party-blows-stop-sign-20-killed
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That area was also devastated by Hurricane Irene back in 2011. 
I was waiting for the local news to come on since they might have updated details. The number of victims has to be unprecedented and this was a professional driver. 
I just can't imagine how this could have happened, but the details are still sketchy even on the Albany news. Was the driver unfamiliar with the area? Even so, there have to be signs - and Governor Cuomo is closely following this and weighing in, it's that big a story. I sure hope the driver wasn't under the influence as well, the "war on drugs" doesn't need another boost. You know I meet many people "in treatment," that works, incarceration does not. 
Even the anchors were visibly upset. The governor is also weighing in, this is the biggest story around here, most of the newscast was devoted to it, but they're still waiting for more details.
SCHOHARIE, N.Y. — Erin and Shane McGowan were just starting their life together after five months of marriage when they climbed into a limousine to celebrate their friend Amy's 30th birthday. The ride ended in the nation's deadliest transportation disaster since 2009, killing the McGowans and 18 others when the limousine crashed into the parking lot of the Apple Barrel Country Store in Schoharie on Saturday afternoon.
"They just decided to rent a limousine and have fun and not worry about everything," Erin's uncle Anthony Vertucci told the Times Union on Sunday.
"My whole entire family is in complete and utter shock. It's hard and so tragic," said Vertucci, who lives in Saratoga Springs. "We're just talking layers of tragedy. There are so many families affected by this."
Vertucci said the 17 passengers in the limousine included Amy Steenburg, who was celebrating her 30th birthday, Amy's husband Axel, Axel's brother Rich, Amy's three sisters and one of her brothers-in-law. The group of young adults grew up together and all lived in Amsterdam. Two of the couples were newlyweds.
Schoharie is off Exit 23 of I-88, about 23 miles from I-90. Photo: Joyce Bassett / Times Union
Read more: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Four-sisters-newlyweds-celebrating-birthday-13288852.php