The limo failed to stop at an intersection and careened into an empty parked car in a restaurant parking lot in Schoharie, about 35 miles west of Albany, around 1:55 p.m. Saturday, authorities said.
The struck car was pushed into two pedestrians, killing them, while the limo barreled into a small ravine, killing everyone in the vehicle, including the driver, officials said.
Twenty people were killed when a limo heading to a surprise birthday party crashed in upstate New York, relatives and reports said Sunday.
Eighteen of the dead were in the stretch SUV limo, while two were bystanders, authorities said. The group was going to a surprise birthday party, a relative of one of the victims .

Limo driver Scott Lisinicchia, cops say was speeding when the vehicle went off the road killing him, his passengers and a pair of bystanders on saturday

Debris covers an area at the site of the fatal crash in Schoharie, N.Y. on Saturday

Records indicate that the driver of the limo involved in the deadly upstate limo crash was busted twice on drug charges during the past eight years, including once during a traffic stop, according to records
Scott Lisinicchia, then 48, was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of marijuana and an equipment violation when he was stopped while driving in Saratoga Springs on Nov. 22, 2013, The Saratogian reportedthe following day.
Lisinicchia was also charged with unlawful possession of marijuana in Saratoga Springs on July 2, 2010, according to the Saratogian.
On Monday, a law enforcement official told ABC News that Lisinicchia was the driver of the stretch limo that flew past a stop sign and plowed into the parking lot at the Apple Barrel Country Store & Cafe parking lot in Schoharie, New York, on Saturday afternoon.
Lisinicchia and all 17 passengers in the extended Ford Expedition, were killed when the limo crashed into a drainage ditch.
The passengers, many of whom were related,  were headed to a brewery in Cooperstown, in upstate NY for one passenger’s birthday party.
Two bystanders were also killed by a parked car that struck them when it was hit by the limo.

Victims: [L-R], Abigail Jackson, Mary Dyson, Allison King and Amy Steenburg were all killed when their birthday party was interrupted in a deadly auto crash on Saturday

Tragically, four sisters according to family sources were among those who perished together in Saturday’s limo crash. Sisters Abigail Jackson, Mary Dyson, Allison King and Amy Steenburg – including one newly wed couple were all killed when their birthday party was interrupted in a deadly auto crash on Saturday
Amy King Steenburg and her newlywed husband, Axel Steenburg, Axel’s brother Richard, Amy’s sister Mary King Dyson and her husband Robert Dyson, the women’s sister Abigail King Jackson and her husband Adam Jackson and a fourth sister Allison King were among the dead.
Friends Shane McGowan and his wife Erin Vertucci McGowan, also newlyweds, were killed, too.
Other friends who were killed include Amanda Halse, Erin’s cousin Patrick Cushing, Savannah DeVonne, Matthew Coons, Amanda Rivenburg and Rachael Cavosie
Continuing the trend of family linked casualties in the incident, two pedestrians Brian Hough, a professor at SUNY Oswego and his father-in-law James Schnurr were also killed when the limo hit a stationary vehicle in its path, which then killed the two.

Victims: Newly weds Shane and Erin McGowan [left], and Amanda Halse were also killed in the crash

Robert and Mary Dyson as well as Mary’s three sisters were all killed

Adam and Abby Jackson lost their lives along with other family members and friends. Abby was one of four sisters who killed a single auto crash on Saturday

Axel and Amy Steenburg, newly wed, were also killed in the crash

The limo was speeding when it smashed, witnesses said.
“I heard a loud bang, [and] I came out my front door to see what was going on,” resident Bridey Finnagen told local ABC affiliate News 10. “I saw a lot of people here at the Apple Barrel out in the parking lot. Then I heard screaming.
“Then I saw this large van, a very unusual-looking vehicle out here in Schoharie, in the bushes and really wrecked, hit a tree,” she continued.
The crash kicked off a huge emergency response that included six ambulances, three fire companies and two helicopters, the Times Union reported.
“The first responders broke some windows [on the vehicles] to try to get people out,” said Finnegan. “I believe the Jaws of Life were here on the side of one of the fire trucks.”