They wanted to celebrate the 30th birthday of a friend, according to US media, were on their way to a brewery in the US state of New York. But the 17 occupants of the stretch limousine never arrived.
Instead, it has been one of the worst road accidents in the country in years: 20 people died, including the driver and two pedestrians.
According to the police drove the sedan over a crossroads and crashed into a parked SUV. The exact circumstances are still unclear. The accident occurred near a shop near the town of Schoharie, about 270 kilometers north of New York City.
Shop manager Jessica Kirby told the news agency AP that the scene of the accident was dangerous. Already in 2008 there had been a fatal accident, then the intersection was renewed. Nevertheless, after that several times tractors had run over the stop sign posted there. There are always accidents there. "More accidents than I can count," Kirby said.
The bodies of the victims are still being autopsied, it is not yet known if they were strapped on. The speed of the sedan is not clear.
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Witness Kirby told The New York Times that the car was driving at an estimated 60 mph, nearly 100 kilometers per hour. The car had raced into the parking lot of the shop, where the pedestrians had been caught. "I do not want to describe the scene," she said. "That's nothing I want to think about".
The limousine seated four sisters and their friends. They wanted to celebrate the 30th birthday of their youngest sister, said Barbara Douglas, an aunt of the sisters.
"They did the sensible thing and booked a limo so they do not have to drive themselves," said Douglas. "They were wonderful girls." Three of the sisters were in the car with their husbands. The children of the couples stayed at home.
"This is one of the biggest losses we have seen in a long, long time," said National Road Safety Council Chairman Robert Sumwalt. It was the worst accident since February 2009, when the flight from Colgan Air 3407 crashed in Buffalo, New York, and 50 people died.
DPA
Rescue workers at the scene of the accident
Safety problems in sedans are discussed for years in the US. An accident on Long Island in July 2015, in which four women were killed on a winery tour, fueled the debate. Converted vehicles to stretch limousines often lack safety features such as side airbags, reinforced rollover bars, and emergency exits.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo pledged to support the case as soon as possible: "My heart is broken as to the 20 people who died in this terrible accident, and I have ordered government agencies to provide all the resources they need to to discover in this investigation what has led to this tragedy. "