Birthday celebration ends in disaster as 20 people are killed

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Four sisters and their husbands are among 20 people who were killed when a limo crashed in upstate New York. They were with other relatives and friends on their way to a birthday party for the youngest sister who was turning 30. The limousine went through a stop sign and crashed into a parked car outside a store in what has been described as the deadliest US transportation accident in nearly a decade.

Ms Douglas said three of the sisters were with their husbands, and she identified them as Amy and Axel Steenburg, Abigail and Adam Jackson, Mary and Rob Dyson and Allison King. Relatives said the limousine was carrying the sisters and their friends to a 30th birthday celebration for the youngest.

‘They were wonderful girls,’ said their aunt, Barbara Douglas, speaking with reporters on Sunday. ‘They’d do anything for you and they were very close to each other and they loved their family.’ The crash turned a relaxed Saturday afternoon to horror at a rural spot popular with tourists viewing the region’s fall foliage. ‘They did the responsible thing getting a limo so they wouldn’t have to drive anywhere,’ she added, adding the couples had several children between them who they left at home.