The limo company owner charged in connection with an upstate crash that killed 20 people has hired a prominent defense attorney as a court ruled that federal investigators can finally inspect the vehicle.

The lawyer for Nauman Hussain — who was charged with criminally negligent homicide after the limo he owned failed to stop and careened into a parked car — said the prosecutors rushed to arrest someone for the horrific accident.

“The case is a tragedy but emotions and pressure to pin the blame on someone should not cause the rush to judgment that occurred in this case,” attorney Joe Tacopina told The Post.

“The DA arrested Nauman within four days of the accident, which means they decided to charge him before a complete accident reconstruction and full examination of the vehicle.”

The examination will finally be able to take place as federal investigators will be able to perform a hands-on inspection of the limousine after an agreement was reached in Schoharie County court earlier this week.

Under the deal, NTSB can make a visual inspection of the limousine Tuesday and take photographs. Then police experts will be clear to remove the limo’s transmission and torque converter. The NTSB can proceed with a hands-on inspection after that within the next two weeks.

“It is very telling that the DA has been trying to prevent the NTSB, the agency that has the most expertise in investigating transportation accidents in the world, from inspecting the vehicle,” Tacopina said.

“Of course they are trying to get evidence to match their misguided theory. It’s supposed to be the other way around — the evidence is supposed to lead you to the theory of the case, not vice versa.”

The limo, a modified 2001 Ford Excursion, blew through a stop sign at a T-intersection on Oct. 6 in rural Schoharie and crashed beside a country store, killing the driver, 17 passengers on a birthday outing and two pedestrians.

With Wires