Rep. Delgado Calls For Stretch Limousine Safety Measures
When the news was received it was almost incomprehensible. A stretch limousine, carrying 17 passengers including a wedding party and guests, roared through the intersection of New York State routes 30 and 30A on October 6, 2018 in Schoharie, N.Y.. The resulting crash left a staggering toll. Everybody in the vehicle died, including the 17 passengers and the driver. Two pedestrians were also killed. It was the worst such crash in American history. Not only did it leave many involved with the passengers in the limo grieving the loss of a loved one, but it also seriously affected the many first responders who had to work that tragic scene in the fall of 2018.
Now Representative Antonio Delgado is pushing for new rules and laws to be enacted to help insure an accident of that magnitude will never happen again. Partnering with area Congressman Paul Tonko, Delgado's bill call for specialized stretch limousines to be classified and defined as commercial vehicles. In another bill, he calls for stricter rules that would require that stretch limousines that do not meet rigorous safety standards be taken off the road.
Other bills would require passengers in similar vehicles to wear seat belts and would also initiate a safety commission to determine if more needs to be done to make these custom vehicles more safe.
“The heartbreaking limousine accident that claimed the lives of 20 New York residents is a tragedy that should never have occurred. We owe it to the families and communities affected by this crash, as well as the first responders who rushed to the scene to aid those in need, to create stronger safety standards,” Delgado said in a statement.
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