"I have never felt this kind of pain": Families mourn victims of horrific limo crash
AMSTERDAM, N.Y. — New details are emerging about a limousine crash in upstate New York that left 20 people dead, including two pedestrians. The governor said the limo failed a state safety inspection, which checks for things like suspension and brakes.
The victims include four sisters and three of their husbands.
Family and friends gathered at the crash site to mourn the victims. Karina Halse lost her 26-year-old sister Amanda, who died alongside her boyfriend Patrick.
"I feel like my heart is sunken. It's in a place where I have never felt this kind of pain before," Halse said.
Many also gathered at the home of Rich Steenburg, a young father who died Saturday with his brother Axel Steenburg, Axel's wife Amy Steenburg and Amy's three older sisters: Allison King, Abby Jackson and Mary Dyson.
"I feel like it hasn't really sunk in yet. It seems like a really bad dream," said Eric Steenburg, Rich and Axel's little brother.
They were celebrating Amy's 30th birthday, according to aunt Barbara Douglas, who lost four nieces in the crash.
"They were wonderful girls. They would do anything for you and they were very close to each other and they loved their family," she said.
Abby Jackson was a teacher and mother of two, married to Adam. Shane and Erin McGowan were newlyweds, married this summer, like Axel and Amy.
Some of the victims were veterans, including Mary Dyson and Matthew Coons. Many were also parents — Rich Steenburg's daughter is just 10.
"She's angry. She keeps asking if he's coming back from the hospital," said Andrea Orokos, Rich's sister-in-law. "She doesn't understand what's going on."
More than 1,000 people attended a vigil for all the victims in a riverside park Monday night in Amsterdam, N.Y, where at least seven of the victims lived. Rep. Paul Tonko, a Democrat from Amsterdam, told the crowd, "We are crushed with you. We are crushed for you." The vigil ended "with participants lifting candles above their heads to signal unity and perseverance," according to The Associated Press.