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20 killed after limousine crashes into cafe carpark

A limousine on its way to a birthday party blew a stop sign at the end of a highway, killing all 18 people in the limo and two pedestrians.

The collision turned a relaxed Saturday afternoon into chaos at an upstate New York spot popular with tourists. The 2001 Ford Excursion limousine was travelling through Schoharie, about 270 kilometres north of New York City around 2 pm when it failed to stop at a T-junction.

It went across the road and hit an unoccupied SUV parked at the Apple Barrel Country Store, killing the driver and 17 passengers, as well as two people outside the vehicle.

The crash “sounded like an explosion,” said Linda Riley, of nearby Schenectady.

When she got out of her vehicle, she saw a body on the ground and broken tree branches everywhere, she said. People started screaming.

Emergency personnel respond to the scene of a deadly crash involving a limousine in Schoharie. Image: AP
Emergency personnel respond to the scene of a deadly crash involving a limousine in Schoharie. Image: AP
Debris scatters an area at the site of yesterday’s fatal crash. Image: AP
Debris scatters an area at the site of yesterday’s fatal crash. Image: AP

“My heart breaks for the 20 people who lost their lives in this horrific accident on Saturday in Schoharie,” said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday.

National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Eric Weiss said a team of investigators was on the scene on Sunday, looking into what the Albany Times-Union said was the deadliest crash in the region since 2005.

New York State Police said they would provide more information at a news conference on Sunday.

The crash occurred outside the Apple Barrel Country Store, and multiple people in the store’s parking lot were killed when the limousine sped down a hill and hit them, the store’s manager told the New York Times.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to everyone that was affected by the events of today,” the store said on its Facebook page.

The crash occurred on Saturday evening in Schoharie, about 61 kilometres west of Albany, on Route 30. Image: AP
The crash occurred on Saturday evening in Schoharie, about 61 kilometres west of Albany, on Route 30. Image: AP