A jury began deliberations Tuesday in the trial of a limousine company manager accused of deadly indifference to safety rules before a crash that killed 20 people.
Nauman Hussain is charged with criminally negligent homicide and second-degree manslaughter in connection with the 2018 wreck of a stretch SUV limousine in Schoharie, New York — one of the deadliest U.S. road wrecks of the past two decades.
Jurors deliberated for just under two hours Tuesday before heading home for the evening. Their discussions were due to continue Wednesday morning.
LIMOUSINE COMPANY OPERATOR STANDS TRIAL FOR DEADLY UPSTATE NEW YORK CRASH
Jury deliberation has begun in the trial of Nauman Hussain, a limousine company owner whose negligence prosecutors say led to a 2018 crash in upstate New York, which left 20 people dead. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)
Hussain’s lawyer, Lee Kindlon, told jurors his client was not to blame. He faulted Mavis Discount Tires, a repair shop that Hussain routinely used.
“Hussain had true belief that he had repaired the brake system, that the brakes were in fine and working order,” Kindlon told jurors. “The people could not prove that Nauman Hussain knew or even should have known that Mavis falsified the repair maintenance and safety inspections.”
NEW YORK LIMO OPERATOR GOING ON TRIAL 5 YEARS AFTER FATAL CRASH THAT KILLED 20
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The trial was held after a judge threw out a plea deal last fall that would have spared Hussain prison time.