Troubling Background On Limo That Caught Fire On Way To Natick Prom
BOSTON (CBS) - Seventeen-year-old Alexander Goudsmit and his date were proud to have pooled their own money with friends to pay for the limousine that one of them found. They did it without their parents' help.
Read: Natick Teens Escape Prom Limo Fire
"When the limo pulled up, I didn't really have a great feeling about it," said his mother Paula Goudsmit. For a couple miles, the Natick High School students had a great ride, until suddenly flames began shooting from the front passenger seat. Video and pictures they took with their cellphones show frightening images of the limousine fully engulfed.
Ten teenagers got out unharmed. State records show the limo was registered to carry only six, avoiding the state inspections required for ten-passenger vehicles.
The driver, Yasir Sati, has a checkered driving history. In the last decade, he had two suspensions, two accidents, four citations for speeding, two for failing to stop, and other problems.
He worked for Boston Bob's Limousine. When reached by phone, the owner of Boston Bob's Limousine told WBZ the stretch limo had more than 100,000 miles. He said the Natick Fire Department told him the fire started in the engine, and said he was still open for business.
The address for his company goes to a bar called the Shipwreck Lounge on Revere Beach. According to a bartender, the owner of the limo service used to live in an apartment above the bar. According to the Revere City clerk's office, there is no certificate on record for Boston Bob's Limousine to conduct business in the city.
It's a story that makes legitimate limo drivers cringe. "If you see a company has been around for awhile, I would lean towards a company like that being a little more trustworthy than somebody that just popped up," said limo driver Alex Stadig.
Paula Goudsmit hopes other parents learn from her experience. "Everything's happening. Pictures are going on. They're excited. So many moving pieces," she said, "and you're assuming your kids are going to come home safe and they're going to get there safe."
