*The wife of the limo driver involved in the deadly crash in upstate New York breaks her silence to CBS News and says her husband repeatedly expressed concern about the safety of the vehicles he was given.
Twenty people, including driver Scott Lisinicchia, were killed Saturday and officials claim he did not have a proper license to operate the vehicle. Federal documents also show the limo he was driving also failed an inspection in September, msn.com reports.
Kim Lisinicchia feels her husband is being improperly blamed for the tragedy.
“It has been so difficult because I think about him every day,” she said. The last time they spoke was Saturday morning before he went to work but when Kim hadn’t heard from him in several hours, she knew something was wrong.
“I felt something, and so I called his boss…not the owner, but the son of the limo company. I was like, ‘Did you hear from Scott?’ And he said, ‘I’m glad you called me, ’cause there was an accident.'”
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According to Kim, Scott had been working part-time for Prestige Limousine for more than a year. He was in “excellent health” and an “excellent driver.”
“For over 20-plus years, he drove a tractor-trailer, that’s why I know something was wrong.”
Investigators have not said what caused the crash, but Kim doesn’t think it had anything to do with her husband.
“I don’t know what that’s about,” she said when asked about her husband’s lack of a proper license. “Because…even if he didn’t have the proper license, this still would’ve happened and I feel like he still would have got blamed.”
According to the report, federal records show that ‘Prestige Limousines has been cited for 22 violations in the last 24 months. In September, three vehicles failed inspections and were cited for multiple violations – including no or defective emergency exits and malfunctioning brakes.’
“Hearing about the violations with the fleet, Prestige Limousine’s fleet, are you bitter? Are you upset?” CBS News’ DeMarco Morgan asked.
“Oh yeah, I am. Because they should have been more responsible. You have a company where you have people’s lives….In your hands. That’s unacceptable,” Kim said.
According to Kim, Scott complained about Prestige’s vehicles before.
“He did complain. There were a few times where he told me, like I overheard him say, ‘I’m not going to drive this, like this, you need to give me another car,'” Kim said.”So he knew something was wrong with those vehicles?” Morgan asked.
“Not really… he trusted in what the limo company said, that the cars were alright,” Kim said.
“But, please, I have to say, I feel for these victims, I feel for them….I am in no way trying to make it seem like it’s about me or my husband. I just want my husband to be vindicated….I have to stand for him ’cause nobody else will.”
In a statement, Prestige Limousine said: “We respect the family and their process of grief. Mr. Lisinicchia was a dear friend and dedicated driver and we, too, mourn because he is gone. At this time, we are putting our trust in the investigations in order to answer all the questions of causation and fault.”
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