20 killed after limo crashes on way to birthday celebration
SCHOHARIE, New York - A limousine carrying four sisters, other relatives and friends to a birthday celebration blew through a stop sign and slammed into a parked SUV outside a store in upstate New York, killing all 18 people in the limo and two pedestrians, officials and victims' relatives said on Sunday.
The weekend crash was characterized by authorities as the deadliest US transportation accident in nearly a decade. The crash turned a relaxed Saturday afternoon to horror at a rural spot popular with tourists viewing the region's fall foliage. Relatives said the limousine was carrying the sisters and their friends to a 30th birthday celebration for the youngest.
"They were wonderful girls," said their aunt, Barbara Douglas, speaking with reporters on Sunday. "They'd do anything for you and they were very close to each other and they loved their family."
