N.Y. Limo Crash Is Deadliest US Transportation Incident Since 2009

Investigators are calling Saturday's limo crash in upstate New York the nation's deadliest transportation accident in nearly a decade.

Police say all 18 people inside the limo died when its driver failed to stop at an intersection and hit a parked car roughly 40 miles west of Albany. Two pedestrians were also killed. 

A family member of one of the victims told CNN that the group in the limousine had been heading to a brewery to celebrate a friend's 30th birthday when the accident occurred. 

The chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board called the crash "horrific" and told reporters, "This is one of the biggest losses of life that we've seen in a long, long time."

He said it's the deadliest transportation incident since a 2009 airplane crash near Buffalo, New York, that killed 50 people. 

The NTSB is still investigating the cause of the accident. But New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters Monday that the limousine involved did not pass a DMV inspection last month. He also said the driver did not have the proper license required to operate the limo.

Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.