Just when you thought it could not get worse for Mavis Discount Tire, it does. In recent testimony about the tragic limo crash that killed 20 people last year, the former manager of the store revealed that a new master cylinder was invoiced but never installed as part of the inspection and service that occurred five months before the crash.

According to a letter to the main defendant’s lawyer, the former manager told investigators it was a common practice at Mavis to substitute certain services on final invoices for the ones actually performed, in order to meet sales quotas set by corporate headquarters. The former manager explained that on a January 2018 invoice, a power steering flush was listed when the work actually involved exhaust repairs. The letter did not say whether the billed brake master cylinder was necessary.

The limo company operator Nauman Hussain is facing criminal manslaughter charges for the deadly crash that was caused by defective brakes. Mavis Discount Tire is being sued by the estates of some of the victims for performing a normal passenger vehicle inspection on the Ford Expedition limo that should have been treated as a commercial vehicle. Also, they did not document the faults with the brake system that a previous inspection found 25 percent of the brakes were defective and a constricted hydraulic brake line.

The previous owner registered the Excursion as an 18-passenger vehicle and it underwent the proper inspection procedure because of its size. A DOT roadside inspection of the limousine found it in “poor condition” because of mechanical defects and an “out of service” sticker was issued on March 21, 2018.

The question for the trail will be who is responsible for the crash? Was it the limo operator for not properly repairing the vehicle or the shop that allowed the operator to pass inspections when the vehicle had brake problems.