NY - Twenty Fatality Traffic Crash, Schoharie County, 6 Oct 2018

[crhedBngr]

I think you are wise, not neurotic.
I do think that if the passengers in this tragedy were not wearing seatbelts, it was probably not due to them wearing fancy clothes. I am very doubtful there even were seatbelts in the part of the vehicle where the majority of the passengers ride, since it is not required by law, and this was a reportedly 17 year old car.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but aren't most of these vehicles rented so the occupants can relax and interact with each other?

If so, I can see people frequently getting up and sitting next to someone else to chat. If food and drink was included in the rental, there would be more activity as people refreshed their drinks and ate more food.

My point? Even if seat belts were available to use, given my above hypothesis, the users may not have buckled up.

BTW, I'm not implying that alcohol was even available here. When I say "drinks", there may have been non-alcoholic beverages only.

JMVHO.

 

[KaaBoom]

I added another red line of travel to the photo. Perhaps the limo veered a bit to the left as opposed to traveling a straight route into the brush.

I would guess it was somewhere in between those two lines. It's lucky the store was off to the side, or it would have gone right through the building.

 

[Mica]

Article includes photos of the deceased. Very sad . RIP

20 people killed in New York limo crash 'on the way to a wedding' | Daily Mail Online

 

[gregjrichards]

Ever since Diana Spencer's death in Paris, and it was discovered that the limousine driver, was drunk.
Henri Paul - Wikipedia

While this has been disputed, nonetheless, it impacted me, and I avoid situations that I do not know who is driving.

Now, I don't know if the driver in this situation was drunk, nor am I insinuating this. Just my own neurotic preference to not get in cars with drivers I do not know personally. This was further reinforced by a most unusual situation with an Uber driver, who...let's just say, 10 minutes into the ride, I asked to get out.

Sad situation. Because, of course, no one wants to wear seatbelts and ruin fancy clothes. This has not been verified yet though.

It was heartbreaking to read the pathologist who performed Princess Diana’s autopsy say in the British press last week that she would be alive today if she had her seatbelt on. That Mercedes was a wreck it was badly maintained and it had been in a previous accident. It should not have been on the road.

 

[CocoChanel]

Deleted.
Screenshot from DM was not permitted.

 

[KaaBoom]

I have spent some time trying to see what the speed limit is on Hwy 30 and on 30A, and I am unable to find one that would indicate a change in speed as you get closer to this intersection.
There is a stop sign ahead sign....fairly close to the intersection.
It does look dangerous....!!!

Google Maps
(It is an August, 2014 image capture. There may be better signage now.)

There are several 50 MPH Curve warnings and one 50 MPH Ahead sign, just before the intersection. So the speed limit coming down the hill is at least 55 MPH, decreasing to 50 MPH at the intersection.

 

[crhedBngr]

It was heartbreaking to read the pathologist who performed Princess Diana’s autopsy say in the British press last week that she would be alive today if she had her seatbelt on. That Mercedes was a wreck it was badly maintained and it had been in a previous accident. It should not have been on the road.

If I'm recalling this correctly, several factors were involved in the crash that killed Diana. She wasn't wearing a seat belt, the Mercedes should not have been on the road, and Henri Paul was decidedly under the influence. Plus, the evasion of that d@mned media.

Princess Diana's driver was drunk when she died in 1997 - NY Daily News

I suspect more than one factor was involved in this accident as well.

 

[Mica]

The Apple Barrel store sits at the bottom of a steep hill, where the speed limit is 50 mph. For those unfamiliar with the area, there is no indication a stop sign lies ahead on Route 30 until drivers are about 200 feet from the intersection.

Schoharie limo crash deadliest in US in nine years

 

[Isabelle]

Wondering if the limo had a black box, or was it manufactured before those were being installed.?

 

[mickey2942]

Four beautiful sisters. And their husbands. Heartbreaking. This holiday season is going to be pretty tough in their families. I wonder who will take the children?

We don't often feel gratitude for just a "normal day" of errands, work, fixing dinner, but tonight I will feel some gratitude while cleaning up. At least we are all safe and sound.

 

[Gardenista]

Abigail Jackson
Adam Jackson
Mary Dyson
Robert Dyson
Allison King
Amy Steenburg
Axel Steenburg
Erin McGowan
Shane McGowan
Rich Steenburg
Matthew Coons
Savannah Devonne
5 more passengers
Driver
Two pedestrians

 

[crhedBngr]

Does anyone know what the weather was like in Schoharie Saturday? Had it rained that day (10/06) or Friday (10/05)?

I've been looking, but couldn't find that info.

 

[CocoChanel]

Found my own screenshot on Google maps.
Shows the accident site in relation to the larger area.
Red circle is mine to mark the intersection.

 

[Isabelle]

Is that the limo or the other SUV that was struck? (It does look like the limo to me, too, tbh.) Just curious.

There are other pix from the scene that show lone tires separated from (someone's) automobile as victims' family/friends walked through the scene. It's grim to think about, but has it been reported whether or not the limo had a sunroof or any other modification?

Source: Schoharie limo crash deadliest in US in nine years

The second photo looks as if the driver was breaking with all his might. The blacktop looks scored from debris under the wheels. Wondering if this was one of those run-away vehicles that accelerates and can’t be controlled. Wasn’t there a brand of vehicles that this happened with?

 

[Mica]

Does anyone know what the weather was like in Schoharie Saturday? Had it rained that day (10/06) or Friday (10/05)?

I've been looking, but couldn't find that info.

No rain Friday or Saturday.

Edited to add link. Schenectady County, NY History | Weather Underground

 

[Gardenista]

Does anyone know what the weather was like in Schoharie Saturday? Had it rained that day (10/06) or Friday (10/05)?

I've been looking, but couldn't find that info.

Looks like no rain

Schenectady County, NY History | Weather Underground

 

[Isabelle]

Interesting information if you do a look up on Sudden unintended acceleration in Ford vehicles. Info about a cover up by the auto maker is disgusting!!!

 

[crhedBngr]

The second photo looks as if the driver was breaking with all his might. The blacktop looks scored from debris under the wheels. Wondering if this was one of those run-away vehicles that accelerates and can’t be controlled. Wasn’t there a brand of vehicles that this happened with?

Did some googling; found this regarding the Ford Excursion:

2001 Ford Excursion problems

And this:

2001 Ford Excursion Warning Reviews - Top 10 Problems You Must Know

Looks like a mixed bag of reviews.

 

[TTF14]

So much devastation . My heart breaks for the surviving friends and families.

 

[Ewarm]

This is so very weird to me. As pointed out previously, what are the chances of all 18 people in the limo dying at the scene? I've been looking at prior mass casualties of this nature, and it seems almost unheard of. Even one from the 1950s where a bus went through a guardrail and down a ravine still had more than a dozen survivors. And those bus crashes wouldn't have had seatbelts either. I know this is probably not the case, but could something have happened to the driver and passengers before the limo got to the stop sign? Otherwise, I don't understand how you blow through a stop sign, hit a parked car, pedestrians and still don't stop until you end up in a ditch. It makes me wonder if the driver was conscious. The limo didn't seem to have the amount of damage I would have expected for 18 instantaneous deaths in the picture I saw. I'm very interested to hear more details about exactly how this all unfolded.