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SCHOHARIE — Jury selection began Monday in the trial of the limousine operator whose alleged criminal activity played a role in the crash that killed 20 individuals nearly five years ago.
Nauman Hussain, the 33-year-old operator of the Wilton-based Prestige Limousine & Chauffeur Service, faces 20 counts each of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide for his alleged role in the Oct. 6, 2018 crash that killed a group of 17 friends from the Amsterdam area, the driver of the stretched 2001 Ford Excursion SUV and two pedestrians in what remains the deadliest automobile crash in the country for more than a decade.
Hussain appeared in court alongside his attorney, Lee Kindlon. He sat quietly for a bulk of the proceedings, except to respond to a few procedural questions posed by the judge early on.
“Yes, sir,” he said.
State Supreme Court Justice Peter Lynch, who is presiding over the case, read the names of the 20 individuals who were killed in the crash, explaining that each death included a sole count of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide and outlined what each charge meant to the more than 100 potential jurors who packed the Schoharie County Courthouse.
Media members were not allowed in the courtroom during the proceedings, but were allowed to view the court happenings in a separate screening room. But much of the hearing was difficult — and at times impossible — to follow due to individuals not using microphones, the proceeding being muted and side bars between Lynch and attorneys from both sides, including Schoharie County District Attorney Susan Mallory and Assistant District Attorney Fred Wretch, who are prosecuting the case.
Hussain’s brother, Shahyer Hussain, and his fiancee, Melissa Bell, were also seated in the observation room but did not speak.
A total of 1,500 potential jurors have been summoned in the case. Lynch said it’s unclear how long the jury selection process will take, but noted the trial is expected to last between four and six weeks once a panel is assembled.
“It is a privilege to be selected as a juror in a case,” he told the prospective jurors, before outlining additional details about what those selected for the panel should expect.
A total of 12 jurors will be selected along with four alternatives.
Hussain is accused of failing to maintain the vehicle involved in the crash, flouting state vehicle registration and inspection laws that could have prevented the crash and knowingly putting the unsafe vehicle back on the road despite the state Department of Transportation ordering the vehicle out of service just weeks prior to the incident.
A report by the National Transportation Safety Board found that Prestige’s “disregard for safety” and lack of maintenance on the vehicle, which was stretched 144 inches and weighed around 7 tons when fully loaded, was the likely cause of the crash.
The vehicle’s brakes failed while the limo was descending a steep hill on Route 30. It reached speeds in excess of 100 mph before crossing Route 30A, striking a vehicle in the parking lot of the Apple Barrel Country Store and coming to rest in a ravine.
The crash garnered national attention and has raised questions about whether the state did enough to ensure the troubled vehicle was kept off the road. There have also been questions raised about whether Hussain’s father — Shahed Hussain, the owner of Prestige Limo — used his connections as a former FBI informant to circumvent the law. Shahed Hussain was in Pakistan at the time of the crash and has not returned to the U.S. since the incident.
Although Nauman Hussain faces a 40-count indictment, he can only be convicted of 20 counts of either manslaughter or negligent homicide, Lynch said.
A conviction on the manslaughter counts requires prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Hussain’s actions recklessly caused the death of each victim. A conviction on the criminally negligent counts would require — beyond a reasonable doubt — that Hussain acted with “criminal negligence.”
“In a case the charge of criminally negligent homicide is brought up to you as an alternative,” to the more serious charge of manslaughter, Lynch said.
Monday’s proceedings almost never took place.
Hussain, in 2021, pleaded guilty to the negligent homicide counts and was set to be sentenced to probation and community service last year, but Lynch rejected the plea offer that was agreed upon by his predecessor on the case, state Supreme Court Justice George Bartlett III, who retired last year.
But following Monday’s court proceedings, a trial is still days off.
Attorneys never had an opportunity to begin asking questions to prospective jurors. A bulk of the afternoon was dedicated to finding 16 prospective jurors that did not have any potential conflicts that could impact the result of the trial.
Around 20 potential jurors were either dismissed or excused from the proceedings for reasons that were not entirely clear.
At least two were dismissed after they indicated that the years of reporting on the case had biased their outlook on their view of Hussain and his alleged role in the crash.
Others left the jury bench after a list of 136 prospective witnesses was read off and the individuals admitted to having some kind of relationship to the potential witnesses, which included state police troopers and what is likely dozens of local first responders who were called to the scene that day.
Others left after Lynch asked if they had any other reasons not to sit on the jury.
On Tuesday, lawyers for the prosecution and defense are expected to begin questioning potential witnesses, which means the panel is likely to change again.
Jury selection is expected to resume Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Schoharie County Courthouse.
Contact reporter Chad Arnold at: [email protected] or by calling 518-395-3120.
