Is the 'operator' the driver?

Question

Arrested limo company operator

The operator of an upstate New York limousine company charged with negligent homicide in Saturday's crash that killed 20 people bore "sole responsibility" for the vehicle being on the road, authorities said Wednesday.

At an afternoon news conference, New York State Police Superintendent George Beach said Nauman Hussain knew that the 19-seat Ford Excursion limo had been ordered taken out of service after it failed an inspection last month and that the limousine's driver did not have the proper license to operate the vehicle.

Is the operator the driver?

Nauman Hussain, the 28-year-old son of Prestige Limousine owner Shahed Hussain, was arrested earlier Wednesday after a traffic stop on Interstate 787 near Albany and charged with one count of criminally negligent homicide. He was arraigned Wednesday evening in an Albany-area court and was released after posting $150,000 bond. A judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

[...]

Hussain's arrest came four days after the Prestige-operated limousine blew through a stop sign at a T-intersection and slammed into a parked vehicle in Schoharie. All 18 people in the limousine, including driver Scott Lisinicchia, were killed along with two bystanders.

Prestige is a company's name, how can a company operate a car? Hussain was the limousine's driver? Scott was another driver. There were two limousines?

Answer 1

Is the operator the driver?

No, they are two different people. The driver is Scott. Hussain is the operator, the person running/operating the company Prestige.

Prestige is a company's name, how can a company operate a car?

Operating the car here doesn't mean driving the car. The limousine was owned and managed by the company.

Hussain was the limousine's driver?

No, Scott was.

There were two limousines?

No. Just the one that was involved in the accident. Although Prestige may be 'operating' more than one limousine at the time.

Answer 2

You're thinking of the wrong meaning of operate. Look at this entry from Merriam-Webster and contrast the two:

operate
2 a : to cause to function : work
operate an automobile
b : to put or keep in operation
operated a grocery store

You are thinking of 2a, which is synonymous with drive. The article is using 2b, which roughly means manage.

Notice also that the person operates (= manages) a limousine company, not a single limousine.

The "limousine driver" is the driver of the limousine, or operator as in 2a.

Again, Prestige (or the owners and administrators) managed the limousine.

Hussain was not the driver. You are supposed to infer that Hussain is the operator (= manager) mentioned in the first paragraph. If he had been driving, he would have died as well, as all 18 people in the limousine died. Lisinicchia was the driver when the limousine crashed, the driver who did not have the proper license. Hussian was not driving the limousine--Lisinicchia was.