The horrific 2018 limousine crash in Schoharie that took the lives of 20 people, including several of my constituents, was a terrible tragedy that should have been prevented.
All the individuals were doing what they thought was the right and safe thing by using a limousine service to enjoy a day out together and now they being grieved by family and loved ones.
One of the victims, Patrick Cushing, was a Senate Information Technology staff member who was in my office the day before the crash and repaired a printer. He was a wonderful and valued member of the senate and we continue to mourn his passing as we do all the victims.
As elected representatives we have a responsibility to protect public safety and to learn what went wrong and do our best to help prevent something like this from ever happening again.
In 2019, following my discussions with some of the Schoharie crash victims’ families, I requested, and the Senate Transportation Committee held a hearing on this issue. I was just one of three state senators to take part in the Albany hearing.
The legislature passed several bills to begin to address safety issues that were brought up in the hearing and in the wake of the crash, including the creation of the New York State Stretch Limousine Passenger Safety Task Force to examine the circumstances surrounding the Schoharie crash and similar incidents related to stretch limos. The Task Force, which by law will remain in effect until May 31, 2023, is required to submit its final report and recommendations to the governor and legislature for review by October 1, 2022.
In 2021, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the NYS Department of Transportation (DOT) and Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) share the blame in the Schoharie crash with Prestige limousine operators as they had multiple opportunities to permanently remove the vehicle from operation but failed.
The NTSB report prompted me in April 2021 to request the New York State Inspector General (IG) investigate the DOT and DMV’s role in the crash. The IG then launched an investigation into the crash but has yet to release her findings more than a year and a half later, despite my repeated requests.
Unfortunately, the Task Force is still missing essential safety information to complete a holistic and thorough report about what happened and what went wrong to provide us with sound policy recommendations to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again: the results of the IG’s investigation of the role the DOT and DMV played prior to and in the aftermath of the Schoharie limo crash.
Several members of the Task Force, including parents of limo crash victims, have urged a delay in the release of the report so they can thoroughly review the findings of the IG’s investigation.
Myself, and Assemblyman Chris Tague, who represents Schoharie, and several members of the Task Force, have repeatedly called for the IG to announce the findings of their year-and-a-half-long investigation. However, she has refused any transparency or provided any daylight on the matter.
The Task Force is co-chaired by the Governor’s appointees Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Commissioner Mark Schroeder and Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez. IG Lucy Lang also is appointed by the Governor and reports directly to her office.
There is now an appearance of collusion among the DOT and DMV Commissioners who co-chair the Task Force, the IG and the Hochul Administration to withhold critical information on this investigation until after the November election.
That’s why Assemblyman Tague and I have formally requested that the Chairs of the Senate and Assembly Transportation and Investigations Committees use their subpoena power to hold a joint public hearing as soon as possible.
We need to get real answers and justice for the families, and ultimately, help craft policy recommendations to prevent something like this from happening again.
Without this crucial information from the IG’s investigation, any so-called final report by the Task Force will be meaningless and just a whitewash.
Senator Jim Tedisco represents the 49th State Senate District which includes Saratoga, Schenectady, Fulton, Hamilton and Herkimer Counties