Sisters, husbands, newlyweds and parents were among the 20 people killed during Saturday's tragic limo crash in upstate New York.
The trip, which brought 17 people to Schoharie in a limo, was meant to celebrate Amy Steenburg’s 30th birthday, a gift from her husband Axel Steenburg. The newlyweds had just gotten married on June 30 in nearby Saratoga, according to their page on TheKnot.com.
Her sisters, Abigail Jackson, and Mary Dyson, along with husbands Adam Jackson and Rob Dyson were also in the limo when it crashed. A fourth sister, Allison King, was also among those killed.
“They were the Four Musketeers,” the sisters’ brother Tom King, 35, told the New York Post.
“They were wonderful girls," their aunt, Barbara Douglas, told The Associated Press. "They’d do anything for you and they were very close to each other and they loved their family."
Axel’s brother Rich Steenburg, was also killed in the crash. He is survived by his daughter, 10, stepson, 14, and wife, who were not in the car.
Another newlywed couple, 34-year-old Erin McGowan and her husband, 30-year-old Shane McGowan, were also passengers in the limo at the time of the crash, their family members wrote on Facebook. Erin’s cousin, Patrick Cushing, was also killed.
Many of the victims were parents of young children.
Family members said the group was doing a tour of local breweries at the time of the crash.
“They did the responsible thing getting a limo so they wouldn’t have to drive anywhere," Douglas said.
Two additional pedestrians and the limo driver were killed during the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board is calling one of the deadliest transportation accidents since a 2009 plane crash.
“This is one of the biggest losses of life that we’ve seen in a long, long time,” NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt told The AP.
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