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A surprise 30th birthday party, a relaxing winery trip, a bachelorette party, the end of a wedding night. 

What should have been joyful memories with family and friends turned into nightmare limo crashes that took dozens of lives in horrific accidents.  

Now, after 20 people were killed in a terrible limo crash in upstate New York over the weekend, the National Transportation Safety Board is mulling serious changes. 

Two pairs of newlyweds, four sisters from one family, and two brothers from another were among the victims of a limo crash in Schoharie, New York on Saturday.

It was the deadliest transportation crash in the US since 2009, when a plane crash in Buffalo killed 50 people.

NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said the crash was a much needed ‘wake-up call’ for limousine safety. 

The National Transportation Safety Board is mulling serious changes to limo safety regulations after 20 people were killed in a terrible crash in upstate New York on Saturday  

Sisters Allison King (back row, second from left) Abby Jackson (front left), Amy Steenburg (front right) and Mary Dyson (back row, on the right of Allison) were all killed in the crash

Newlyweds Erin and Shane McGowan (pictured together) were among the victims of the crash, the worst transportation accident in the US since 2009

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‘Here we have 20 lives that have been lost tragically.

We do need to learn from this,’ Sumwalt told CNN on Monday.  

Investigators were determining whether the regulations for limousines, whose passengers are not required to wear seat belts, are adequate.

‘I can tell you that wearing seat belts does saves lives.

Whether or not it would have made a difference here or not…remains to be seen,’ Sumwalt added.

Sumwalt said that most of the victims were found inside the vehicle following the crash and one or two victims may have been ejected. 

Michael Barasch, an attorney who has worked extensively in litigation involving transportation disaster, told DailyMail.com that limousines have a number of unique safety problems.

‘Think about an ordinary passenger car.

You have a driver and passengers buckled into their seats, protected by airbags and crumple zones,’ he said. 

‘Compare that with limousines, where passengers are often unbuckled in a relatively open space.’  

Local officials said the limo was speeding down a hill and crashed into bystanders in front of the popular Apple Barrel County Store (pictured) in Schoharie 

Debris from the crash could be seen scattered at the site of the horrific accident on Sunday afternoon, including a tire from one of the vehicles

Abby Jackson and her husband Adam are seen, left.

Victims Amy Steenburg is pictured right with her husband Axel (on the left) and his brother Rich (right). Rich was also killed in the crash

Matthew Coons, a US Army veteran, and his girlfriend Savannah Devonne also died in the tragic accident on Saturday.

Coons was a groomsman at Amy and Axel’s wedding. Patrick Cushing (right), Erin’s cousin, also died

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Barasch said the deadliest part of a limousine crash often isn’t the impact, but the ‘fraction of a second afterwards’. 

‘Anyone who isn’t restrained by a seat belt or protected by an airbag goes flying at a very high rate of speed into the nearest hard surface,’ he explained.  

‘That second impact – the person colliding with the windshield or the sides of the car – results in the most deaths and serious injuries.’ 

Scott Lisinicchia, 53, was driving the limo which crashed in upstate New York on Saturday.

Questions have been raised over the condition of his vehicle

Barasch has seen numerous instances in which limo companies used vehicles that did not meet basic safety requirements ‘in an effort to save money by delaying or foregoing needed repairs’. 

‘They assume that a crash isn’t likely on any given trip,’ he continued. 

‘But when a crash does occur, the victims pay a terrible price.’ 

‘We don’t yet know what happened here, but it’s important to determine the state of the vehicle that was used.’   

It has since been revealed that the 2001 Ford Excursion stretch limousine limousine Lisinicchia was driving failed a safety inspection just last month and that he did not even have the correct license to drive it.

Lisinicchia worked for Prestige Limousines, also known as Saratoga Luxury Limos and Hasy Limos.

Since 2016, four of the company’s five vehicles have been taken out of service upon inspection, according to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration documents obtained by DailyMail.com. 

That puts the company at a whopping 80 percent failure rate, compared to a national average of 20.72 percent. 

Violations from past vehicle inspections included inoperative horn, no or defective bus emergency exits, brake connections with constrictions under vehicle, flat tire or audible air leak, inoperative or defective windshield wipers, and failure to correct defects noted on a previous inspection report.

One such inspection also found that the number of defective brakes was equal to or greater than 20 percent of the service brakes on the vehicle.

New York Gov Andrew Cuomo confirmed on Monday that the state is seeking a cease-and-desist order so that the company cannot operate while it’s under investigation.

‘The owner of the company in my opinion, because there will be legal consequences, the owner of the company had no business putting a failed vehicle on the road,’ Cuomo said while speaking at the NYC Columbus Day Parade.

‘I don’t know if this a situation where we can find a new law or a new regulation. Sometimes the issue is the law worked fine and the regulation worked fine.

They were just broken.’

Cuomo said Lisinicchia ‘did not have the appropriate license to be operating’ the 2001 Ford Excursion stretch limousine.

‘That vehicle was inspected by the New York State Department of Transportation last month and failed inspection and was not supposed to be on the road,’ he added. 

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The horrific crash comes just three years after four young women were killed when a pickup truck plowed into the side of their limousine during a winery trip in Long Island (pictured) 

Stephanie Belli, 23, (left) and Brittany Schulman, 23, (right) lost their lives when Steve Romeo’s pickup truck hit their limo with so much force that it was almost split in two

Amy Grabina, (left) also died in the horrific limo crash along with Lauren Baruch (right)

And Ford has since confirmed to DailyMail.com that the company does not make stretch limo versions of the Ford Excursion. 

Officials also plan to investigate if the design of the roadway, a notoriously dangerous intersection, was a factor in the crash.

It has since been revealed that the passengers were worried about the condition of the stretch SUV, which was taking them to a surprise 30th birthday party. 

Romero (pictured), who admitted to cops he had a ‘few beers’ before the crash, pleaded guilty last year to driving while ability impaired.

He avoided jail time after a grand jury found the limo driver caused the crash

The vehicle had been brought in as a replacement after a bus meant to transport the party broke down. 

Twenty minutes before the crash, passenger Erin McGowan – who died alongside her new husband Shane – texted her aunt Valerie Abeling to say the limo was ‘in terrible condition’, according to the Washington Post.

Abeling said the group had rented ‘some kind of bus’ to take them to the party venue, but it had broken down. The same company then sent a limo to take the group the rest of the way.  

Saturday’s tragedy isn’t the first time an innocent limo ride ended in tragedy. 

The horrific crash comes just three years after four young women were killed when a pickup truck plowed into the side of their limousine during a winery trip. 

Brittany Schulman, 23, Lauren Baruch, 24, Stephanie Belli, 23, and Amy Grabina, 23, lost their lives when Steve Romeo’s pickup truck hit their limo with so much force that it was almost split in two. 

Romero, who admitted to cops he had a ‘few beers’ before the crash, pleaded guilty last year to driving while ability impaired. 

He was fined $500 and lost his license for 90 days, but avoided jail time. 

The grand jury did not indict him for manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide, saying the fault of the crash fell on the limo driver, Carlos Pino. 

Prosecutors argued that Pino made a reckless U-turn and he was charged with multiple counts of criminally negligent homicide.

The charges were eventually thrown out. 

A special grand jury that investigated the crash called for improved safety regulations for stretch limousines. 

The women had been riding in a Lincoln Town Car that had been cut apart and rebuilt in a stretch configuration to accommodate more passengers. 

The grand jury found that vehicles converted into stretch limousines often don’t have safety measures including side-impact air bags, reinforced rollover protection bars.

and accessible emergency exits. 

Limousines built in factories are already required to meet stringent safety regulations, but when cars are converted into limos, safety features are sometimes removed, leading to gaps in safety protocols, the grand jury wrote as it called on Cuomo to assemble a task force on limousine safety.  

On Sunday, New York Sen Chuck Schumer noted he had asked NTSBToronto airport taxi intercepted by US

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Two years before the winery crash, a limousine packed with nine women celebrating a bachelorette party caught on fire on a San Francisco bridge and killed five

Investigators found that a fire started due to friction due to the ‘catastrophic failture’ of the limousine’s rear suspension system

Bride-to-be Neriza Fojas (right) was killed alonside her friend Michelle Estrera (left) three other women when the backseat of their limo filled with flames 

Two years before the winery crash, a limousine packed with nine women celebrating a bachelorette party caught on fire on a San Francisco bridge and killed five.

Jenni Balon, a wife and mother of two, was killed in the limo fire 

Bride-to-be Neriza Fojas was killed, as were her friends Michelle Estrera, Jennifer Balon, Anna Alcantara, and Felomina Geronga on May 4, 2013. 

Investigators found that a fire started due to the ‘catastrophic failure’ of the limousine’s rear suspension system.

It allowed the car’s drive shaft to come into contact with the rear floor board, their friction igniting flames that quickly consumed the backseat.  

The only way passengers could escape was through the partition into the driver’s compartment. 

Survivors later claimed that driver Ricky Brown initially ignored their pleas for help when the backseat began to fill with smoke. 

Brown claimed he thought one of the passengers had been asking him if they could smoke inside the car. 

Investigators ruled the fire as an accident and Brown was not charged. 

But a murder conviction was found in the case of another horrific limo accident that occurred after a wedding in July 2005 in Long Island. 

Limo driver Stanley Rabinowitz, 69, and seven-year-old Katie Flynn, a niece of the bride, were both killed when their limo was struck head-on by a drunk driver.  

But a murder conviction was found in the case of another horrific limo accident that occurred after a wedding in July 2005 in Long Island (pictured) 

Limo driver Stanley Rabinowitz, 69, and seven-year-old Katie Flynn, a niece of the bride, were both killed when their limo (pictured after the crash) was struck head-on by a drunk driver

Katie (pictured) was decapitated in the limo by her seat belt.

She had been lying down on the side seat of the limo before the crash occurred

Katie was decapitated in the limo by her seat belt. She had been lying down on the side seat of the limo before the crash occurred. 

It was her mother, Jennifer, who discovered the young girl’s head. 

Jennifer, the sister of the bride, had been traveling in the limo with their parents Christopher and Denise, her husband Neil, Katie, and her five-year-old daughter Grace.

Chris had to have one of his legs amputated.

Neil suffered a broken back.  

Martin Heidgen, who was 24 at the time, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 18 years in prison

Martin Heidgen, who was 24 at the time, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 18 years in prison. His blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit at the time of the crash.  

It remains to be seen exactly where the blame will fall for Saturday’s crash.

But it has undoubtedly changed the lives of dozens of families. 

The limo had been rented by newlyweds Axel and Amy Steenburg. 

Amy was one of four sisters who died in the accident, along with Mary Dyson, Allison King, and Abby Jackson. The group were celebrating Amy’s birthday when the crash happened.

Axel and his brother Rich were also killed in the crash as was Matthew Coons, a groomsman at Axel’s recent wedding, and Coons’ girlfriend Savannah Devonne.

McGowan’s cousin, Patrick Cushing, also perished in the accident as did his girlfriend Amanda Halse. 

Barbara Douglas, an aunt of the four sisters, said the family was completely devastated.

‘One just got married and that’s what this was: her new husband was giving her a surprise birthday party,’ she told the New York Post. 

‘My brother and his wife are just overwrought,’ she said.

‘I don’t know how to say it. Can’t wrap your head around such a tragedy where you have four of your daughters die. They had their whole lives ahead of them.’ 

She described all four sisters, who were aged 30 to 35, as ‘beautiful girls, full of life’ and said two were mothers.

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As the NTSB begins to determine which changes need to be made to make limos a safer place, Barasch said he hopes to seat belts and airbags mandated. 

‘We also need to require regular, comprehensive safety testing of for-hire vehicles,’ he added. 

‘Too often, companies have tried to save money by delaying (and even foregoing repairs) that are needed to keep their vehicles safe.’ 

‘As a result, the crash victims pay a terrible price, sometimes with their lives.’  

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