Crackdown on unlicensed limos, for-hire vehicles on Long Island
There's a new crackdown on unlicensed limos and for-hire vehicles in Suffolk County on Long Island.
Those drivers do not carry livery insurance, are not registered with the state Department of Transportation, and have no safety equipment.
Enforcement crackdown follows tragic crash
Eight friends were injured or killed in a tragic limousine crash in Cutchogue a decade ago. They were on a wine tasting trip when their limo drive made a turn. The limo was T-boned, and four of the passengers killed. The story made national headlines.
Families of the limo crash victims want education, crackdowns, stiffer laws and tougher penalties in honor of their daughters.
"Every day, I think about how lucky I am," Nancy Dimonte said. Her daughter Joelle miraculously survived the deadly crash 10 years ago. "But the injuries she sustained were permanent so we live with that."
Dimonte points to limo safety laws she helped get passed.
"She knows that I'm going to fight. I keep going," Dimonte said.
"What I really want to see is prevention and justice"
Brittney Schulman was among those killed.
"Drivers are supposed to be CDL qualified. Just like a truck driver. Just like a school bus driver. I'm upset. There's laws, but they're not being enforced," her father Paul Schulman said.
"What I really want to see is prevention and justice," Dimonte said.
"We will do it in honor of those young women whose lives were cut short," Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer said. "We have made a pledge as the 10 town supervisors."
As part of that crackdown, two companies and three drivers were summoned and fined $11,000.
Vehicles must have taxi and limousine or livery plates, and drivers must be appropriately licensed.
"If you are just a regular person who is hustling, the insurance company will deny it immediately, the claim, and you have no one to go after," Long Island limousine association president Tom Gouldsbury said.