SCHOHARIE, N.Y. — From the curbside of Route 30, at the base of a long, sweeping hall, a path of mud, rocks and scattered glass tells the story of a tragic limo crash where 20 people lost their lives on Saturday.
Its path leads through the grass beside Apple Barrel Café, through the tall brush that now lies flat and plummeting into a shallow ditch where a large tree trunk is split in half.
Dark clouds hovered over the scene Sunday afternoon, quiet save for the gentle stream running through the ditch. A swarm of news teams and television cameras were rolling, all pointed toward this tight corner where so many lives were lost.
Since the crash, friends of the victims, neighbors who heard the sirens and members of the community have stopped by to pay their respects. A few have left bouquets of flowers wrapped in colored cellophane at the edge of the ditch, others make the sign of the cross and say a prayer.
On the largest potted plant, an arrangement of small white flowers in the center is written, “May God Bless Them All.”
State Police spokesman Christopher Fiore said the limousine failed to stop at the intersection in the town of Schoharie and slammed into a parked, unoccupied SUV. Eighteen people in the limousine, including the driver, and two pedestrians were killed in the crash, he said.
"Everyone inside the limousine was killed," Fiore said.
The National Transportation Safety Board was on the scene. Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt said it was the biggest U.S. transportation accident since 2009.
"Twenty fatalities is just horrific," he said.
An aunt of one of the victims in the vehicle said the group had been on the way to a birthday celebration.
The 2001 Ford Excursion limousine was traveling southwest on Route 30 in Schoharie around 2 p.m. when it failed to stop at a T-junction with state Route 30A and crashed into an SUV parked at the Apple Barrel Country Store and Cafe, Fiore said.
He didn’t comment on speed or whether the occupants of the vehicle had been wearing seat belts.
The crash “sounded like an explosion,” said Linda Riley of nearby Schenectady, who was on a shopping trip with her sisters. When she got out of her vehicle, Riley said, she saw a body on the ground and people started screaming.
Authorities didn’t release names of victims or other specifics, but state police set up a hotline for family members.
Rochester's Lester Andrews, 60, told the New York Times on Sunday that his two stepsons and a daughter-in-law were among three of the people killed in the limousine crash.
The brothers were Axel and Rich Steenburg, along with Axel's wife Amy. Anderson said Axel, 34, and Amy lived in Amsterdam, and were the ones who rented the limo.
Speaking through tears, Valerie Abeling said her niece Erin Vertucci was among the victims, with her newlywed husband, Shane McGowan. Abeling said they were headed to a friend's birthday party when the crash occurred. She said her own daughter had been invited along but couldn’t go.
“She was a beautiful, sweet soul; he was, too,” Abeling said of the two victims, adding they were married in June. “They had everything going for them.”
Schoharie is a town of 3,300 people about 160 miles north of New York City.
The crash took place in an area popular with tourists during the fall foliage season. The Apple Barrel owners posted condolences on Facebook and said the store was open Sunday to share "hugs" with neighbors.
"This is a wonderful, small-knit community of people who care about each other," Liz Gallup, who works at the store and has lived nearby for almost 60 years, told USA TODAY. "People are coming in, they are hugging, they are sharing."
The ensuing 911 calls drew a phalanx of first responders. At least one of the injured was flown to Albany Medical Center Hospital, Fiore said.
"As you may be aware, there was a horrific accident in front of our business today," the Apple Barrel said in its Facebook post. "We hope you will come and share your smiles, love, friendship and hugs with us."
The store asked that customers "share your change" as donations to first responders.
"They are the heroes of our small community," the post said.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a statement that state police are working with federal and local authorities investigating the crash.
“My heart breaks for the 20 people who lost their lives in this horrific accident on Saturday in Schoharie,'' the statement said.
Contributing: The Associated Press.
