Family of Marine killed in 2018 limo crash files amended complaint against Mavis
May 14-ALBANY - A state Supreme Court judge is allowing the family of a victim of the 2018 limo crash in Schoharie to amend their wrongful death lawsuit against Mavis Discount Tire, which did brake work on the vehicle in the months leading up to the disaster that killed 20 people. Mavis had opposed a 2025 motion by attorney Brian Premo to amend the civil lawsuit, originally filed in 2020, to include new allegations about what Mavis and the employees in the Saratoga Springs Mavis store knew about the brakes on the 2001 stretch Ford Excursion when it was brought into the shop by owner Nauman Hussain in the months leading up to the Oct. 6, 2018, crash. Listen to 'Catastrophic Failure': How the 2018 limo crash happened and could have been prevented Premo's revised lawsuit asserts dozens of new allegations against Mavis and its employees based on video and audio recordings from inside the Mavis store. Premo claims that the recordings implicate Mavis. Premo obtained the recordings and reams of other email evidence from State Police after his original suit was filed in 2020. Premo asserts Mavis had a "duty of care" to make sure the car was safe when it made repairs. Mavis has denied any wrongdoing. Acting state Supreme Court Justice Denise Hartman, who has been overseeing discovery in the civil lawsuits filed against Mavis and Hussain in the wake of the crash, made the ruling April 22 from Albany. Mavis declined to comment. Premo represents the family of Michael Ukaj, a Marine from Caroga Lake who was in the limo that day with a group of 16 friends who had hired a stretch limousine that day for a birthday party. The updated complaint, which was filed Wednesday afternoon, alleges that Mavis employees knew the limo's brakes had a chronic issue they had not been able to fix. During discovery, Premo obtained dozens of video recordings, many with audio, that had never been made public before. At Hussain's manslaughter trial in 2023, prosecutors showed the jury several videos of Mavis employees interacting with Hussain. Those videos were largely inaudible due to a constant high-pitched noise over the recording. Premo says he has many more videos than those shown at trial and has been able to transcribe what was said by Mavis employees about Hussain's car and the brakes. Premo said the amended complaint will "reflect the crucial evidence of Mavis' alleged atrocious conduct, especially as it relates to punitive damages." He added that the videos he has obtained and transcribed were "not disclosed in the Hussain trial or previously known by any plaintiffs." Of the 20 victims' families, Ukaj's family is the only one that has not yet agreed to a monetary settlement with Mavis. The terms of the settlements have been kept secret for now by the court. The limo was supposed to take the group, which included Ukaj, from Amsterdam to a brewery outside Cooperstown, with possible stops along the way. On the ride south through the hilly Schoharie County countryside, the brakes failed, according to state and federal investigations. Unable to stop the limo as it descended Route 30 toward the village of Schoharie, the driver swerved out of the way of an SUV stopped at the bottom of the hill, but ended up plowing into the crowded parking lot of a popular cafe and gift shop, the Apple Barrel Country Store. Two bystanders in town for a wedding died when they were struck by the 2001 stretch Ford Excursion, which weighed nearly seven tons fully loaded and was going faster than 100 mph upon the initial impact. The limo then fell into a ditch, slamming head-first into an earthen embankment, the back end lifting up and slamming down as the limo came to rest. Only the driver was wearing a seat belt, according to an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. Witnesses and first responders who saw the crash and arrived at the scene recounted watching at least one of the bystanders struck by the limo die in front of them. A State Police investigator described a pile of bodies and body parts found in the limo, the driver crushed between his seat and the engine block, which had torn into the main cabin area. Most of the victims died instantly, although at least one was found to have a pulse and was rushed by helicopter to Albany Medical Center, according to records included in the NTSB's final report. With 20 deaths and no survivors, the tragedy is considered to be the worst highway transportation disaster in the U.S. in decades. Among the victims in the limo, most in their 20s and 30s, were four sisters and three of their husbands, a newlywed couple and parents with young children. None survived. Hussain is the only person to ever face criminal charges. He was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in a 2023 trial in Schoharie County and is serving a sentence of 5 to 15 years in Attica state prison near Buffalo.
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This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 8:44 PM.