NEW YORK _ Twenty people died when a limousine carrying birthday party guests crashed at a dangerous upstate New York highway intersection in the deadliest U.S. transportation accident in nearly a decade.
The 2001 Ford Excursion limousine barreled down a hill on State Route 30 in a rural part of Schoharie, and sped past a stop sign where Route 30 joins Route 30A.
It then ripped through the parking lot of the Apple Barrel Country Store and slammed into an empty, parked 2015 Toyota Highlander before rolling into a ravine.
All 18 people inside the limo along with two people in the parking lot were killed in the 2 p.m. Saturday crash, authorities said.
"I saw the limo in the ravine, which was 20 to 30 feet deep," witness Steve White told the New York Daily News.
"I saw one person that was down by the limo and a few others trying to climb down," White said.
"It's just horrific," said National Transportation Safety Board chairman Robert Sumwalt. "I've been on board for 12 years and this is one of the biggest losses of lives we've seen in a long, long time."
NTSB investigators were on the scene Sunday. The loss of life was the worst in the U.S. since another upstate tragedy, the February 2009 crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 near Buffalo, which killed 50.
The Apple Barrel Country Store is a popular tourist spot during fall foliage season. Its parking lot was crowded with people and vehicles at the time of the crash, according to local reports.
The crash scene is about 45 miles from Albany, and 156 miles from Manhattan.
Relatives said the limo was carrying four sisters and their friends to a birthday celebration for the youngest sister, The Associated Press reported.
Brothers Axel Steenburg, 29, and Rich Steenburg, 34, who rented the limo, were among the victims, The New York Times reported. Axel Steenburg's wife, Amy, was also killed in the crash, said her father-in-law, Lester Andrews.
The couple wed in Saratoga on June 30 and posted part of the ceremony on YouTube.
"I just wanted to say Axel Steenburg I love you more than words can say! You are such an amazing man and entertain all my crazy ideas," Amy posted on Facebook Wednesday. "Even when I move a couch just to move it back to the original place. Thank you for being so kind and loving xo #justbecause #husband."
Another newlywed couple was also identified as victims of the crash.
Erin and Shane McGowan married in June and died inside the limo, family members said.
"I don't even know what to say," Erin McGowan's father posted on Facebook. "Just darkness and devastation for my family."
"My heart has stopped," he added. "Unspeakable tragedy that I can't comprehend and will never come to terms with."
Adam and Abby Jackson were also killed, according to a GoFundMe page.
The couple leaves behind daughters Archer, 4, and Elle, 16 months.
"Adam and Abby were amazing parents to these girls and taken much too soon," wrote family friend Sarah Maltzman, who created the page. "While families will step in and provide loving care for these girls, there will be expenses that we can help with during this time when we otherwise feel so helpless."
The full list of the names of the dead is being withheld pending family notification.
Only the limo driver and whoever was riding in the front passenger seat were required by law to wear seat belts. Investigators said they would try to determine who was and was not wearing seat belts as part of their probe.
"Our hearts and prayers go out to everyone that was affected by the events," the Apple Barrel store said on Facebook.
A local official said the road has long been a hazard despite improvements made by state Department of Transportation officials seven years ago.
"There have been tractor trailers that have come barreling down that hill and it was a miracle they didn't kill somebody," Schoharie Town Supervisor Alan Tavenner told the Albany Times Union.
He's not the only local to complain about the road.
"When they changed the road it was a bad choice," wrote Barb Bender on the Schoharie Co. Fire Wire Facebook page. "If I was the apple barrel owners I would be demanding some sort of barriers to protect my business and customers."
Questions of limousine safety were raised by a 2015 crash in Suffolk County that killed four people.
A Suffolk County grand jury issued a report late in 2016 that raised issues about the qualifications of limousine drivers, and the construction and safety features of stretch limousines.
The Ford Excursion in Saturday's crash was lengthened after it left the Ford factory, an official told the AP. The Suffolk grand jurors found such limos often lack adequate side-impact panels and other features to make them stronger.
First responders were shaken up by the carnage at the scene.
"All the men and women (mostly volunteers) I know and saw yesterday...were deeply affected by this," Hope Harvey posted on the Schoharie Co. Fire Wire Facebook page.
"I join all New Yorkers in mourning these deaths and share in the unspeakable sorrow experienced by their families and loved ones," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.
