Grassley giving it the gas.
Limo in deadly crash had been cited for out-of-service brakes
The limousine that crashed Saturday in upstate New York, killing 20 people, had been cited by the State Department of Transportation in March for brake failures, according to inspection results obtained by ABC News.
The citations included “brakes out of service” and "brake connections with constrictions under vehicle," the records show.
When the limousine was re-inspected six months later, on Sept. 4, the state DOT noted its "failure to correct defects on previous inspection report."
A lawyer for the limousine company had said earlier this week that the car had failed the safety inspection over minor faults.
"As we understand right now, the inspections last month were minor things — windshield wipers, a latch on a window that needed to be fixed — and all those things were fixed," lawyer Lee Kindlon, who represents Prestige Limousines, said on "Good Morning America" on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the state DOT disputed that claim, however, saying the vehicle involved in the Oct. 6 crash had failed the September safety inspection.
"The assertion that the limousine was cleared to be on the road following the September inspection is categorically false," a spokesperson for the state DOT said on Wednesday. "The vehicle was subject to inspections and the owner was warned not to operate the vehicle; the vehicle was placed out of service."
The crash killed driver of the limousine, all 17 passengers, and two pedestrians.
The driver of the limousine, Scott Lisincchia, had previously told his wife about issues with the vehicle, Richard Burke, the family's spokesman, said.
Burke said Lisincchia's wife "told me that he had complained to her regarding the condition of some of the vehicles."
The operator of the limo company, Nauman Hussain, was arrested on Wednesday in a “controlled traffic stop” because state police feared he was trying to flee, a source told ABC News. The district attorney said there were suitcases in the car, though Hussain's defense attorney said he feared death threats. Investigators aren’t sure whether to believe that.
Hussain was charged with criminally negligent homicide on Wednesday, police said. He was being charged because he put a defective vehicle back on the road and hired a driver whom he knew was not licensed to drive the vehicle, a source familiar with the matter told ABC News. Hussain pleaded not guilty and was released on bail on Wednesday night.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/limo-crash-killed-20-people-cited-service-brakes/story?id=58433111
I'd moon both of them if I could.