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Vehicle Injuries Master News Article Excerpt List

Untitled Document
August 7, 2007
My58.com, "1 Killed In I-5 Wreck Near Zamora; Many Others Injured In Rollover Crash"
          One person died and seven others were injured early Tuesday when a Fresno-area family's sport utility vehicle rolled over along Interstate 5 near the Yolo County town of Zamora, the California Highway Patrol said. Authorities said a Ford Expedition carrying eight people crashed shortly before 1 a.m.
          The CHP said the family riding in the Expedition was on vacation and heading north to Washington state. Five people were taken to a hospital by ambulance, while two others were transported to a hospital by helicopter. CHP said the crash was likely caused when a rear tire of the Ford blew out. The wreck led rescue workers to close the road for about four hours. More...
 
August 3, 2007
MSNBC.com, "Ford recalls 3.6 million vehicles over switch; Cruise control in more than a dozen models from ’92 to ’04 linked to fires"
          Ford Motor Co. said Friday it is recalling 3.6 million passenger cars, trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans to address concerns about a cruise control switch that has led to previous recalls based on reports of fires. Ford said the recall covered more than a dozen vehicle models built from 1992-2004. The company said it was responding to concerns from owners about the safety of their cars and questions about the speed control deactivation switch in the vehicles that is powered at all times.
          The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker previously had recalled nearly 6 million vehicles beginning in January 2005 because of engine fires linked to the cruise control systems in trucks, SUVs and vans. "Customers remain concerned about the long-term durability of the speed control system and about the safety of their vehicles," said Ford spokesman Dan Jarvis.
          He said the automaker had received "a few reports of fires" in Ford Crown Victoria passenger cars prior to the recall. He did not have a precise number. The recall involves the following vehicles: 1998-2002 Ford Ranger, 1992-1997 Lincoln Town Car, 1992-1997 Ford Crown Victoria, 1992-1997 Mercury Grand Marquis, 1993-1998 Lincoln Mark VIII, 1993-1995 Taurus SHO, 1999-2001 Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer.
          Also covered are the 2001-2002 Ford Explorer Sport, 2001-2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac, 1992-1993 E150-350 vans, 1997-2002 E150-350 vans, 1993 Ford F-Series pickups, 1993 Ford Bronco, 1994 Mercury Capri, 2003-2004 Ford F-150 Lightning, and 1995-2002 Ford F53 motor homes. An additional 177,000 vehicles in Canada, Mexico and Europe are covered by the recall. It was Ford’s sixth recall, involving a total of more than 10.4 million vehicles, conducted since 1999 because of problems with the speed control system, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The nation’s largest single recall involved 7.9 million Ford vehicles in 1996 to replace an ignition switch.

Learn more about Ford cruise control switch fires and injury and wrongful death lawsuits relating to these allegedly defective switches.
 
July 30, 2007
FayObserver.com (North Carolina), "1 dead, 4 injured in van crash on I-40"
          A single-vehicle accident on Interstate 40 left one person dead in Sampson County on Sunday afternoon, delaying traffic in the westbound lanes of the interstate for nearly two hours. Killed was Jon Trevor Butler, 28, of Cimmeron Drive Myrtle Beach, S.C. The accident happened at 3:20 p.m. on I-40, 8 miles west of Faison around the 350-mile marker, said Sgt. Joel Siles of the state Highway Patrol. More...
 
July 26, 2007
Law.com, "Florida Jury Awards $6 Million to Man Injured in Ford Van Rollover"
          After a six-week product liability trial, a Broward Circuit Court jury in Florida Wednesday awarded $6 million to a 22-year-old man for injuries he suffered five years ago in the rollover of a 1993 Ford Aerostar van. It was a victory for plaintiff Julian Felipe, who was temporarily paralyzed after the accident. The jury found that Ford Motor Co., the sole defendant in the case, was negligent in putting the vehicle on the market with a defect in the design and manufacture of its roof structure that led to a roof collapse. More...
 
July 18, 2007
Times & Democrat (South Carolina), "10-year-old girl dies in collision"
          Authorities say a 10-year-old Tennessee girl was wearing her seat belt, but died Tuesday after being ejected onto Interstate 26 from a van traveling to Georgia for a softball tournament. Alexis James of Knoxville died at the scene of a one-car crash at the 120 mile marker, according to Calhoun County Coroner Donnie Porth. "(Investigators) think that they had an extreme blowout," Porth said. "At some point, she was ejected." More...
 
July 14, 2007
Waco Tribune-Herald, "Waco Jury awards $8 million verdict in suit over 2005 big rig smashup"
          A Waco jury on Friday handed down an $8 million verdict against Charles Lay, of Waco, and Kansas-based National Carriers Inc., for the 2005 wrongful death of 20-year-old Round Rock resident Ellen Esther Deunsing, killed when her car was hit from behind by an 18-wheeler driven by Lay on U.S. Interstate 35. More...
 
June 26, 2007
LA Times, "Recall of Imported Tires is Sought"
         Federal regulators are asking the New Jersey company, Foreign Tire, to recall as many as 450,000 imported tires because the product was blamed for an accident that killed two people last year. More...
 
June 6, 2007
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin,"Three Kids Injured in Yamaha Rhino ATV Accident"
         A crash involving youths on a Yamaha Rhino off-road vehicle resulted in three injuries, police said. More...
 
June 5, 2007
Sacramento Bee, "Plaintiffs say Ford deceived auto buyers about Explorer safety"
          In a case that puts more than $2 billion in Ford Motor Co. profits at stake, plaintiffs' lawyers told a Sacramento judge Tuesday that the automaker deceived consumers by marketing its rollover-prone 1990s-era Explorers as safe replacements for family station wagons. Ford's lawyers countered that the Explorer was the safest vehicle in its class, with positive ratings from safety agencies and consumer magazines. More...
 
May 29, 2007
The Times (Shreveport), "Lake Charles Teen Dies in Yamaha Rhino ATV Accident"
         A 13-year-old Lake Charles girl died Sunday night in a Shreveport hospital following an ATV accident in south Sabine Parish, Deputy Coroner Ron Rivers said. More...
 
May 22, 2007
MSNBC.com, "Blind spots are a deadly flaw for most SUVs"
          How many kids can sit behind an SUV without being seen by the driver in the rearview mirrors? This is not a trick question. In fact, knowing the answer could save a child’s life. According to the consumer group Kids and Cars, as many as 62 children could be in that blind zone and you’d never know it. And that’s a huge problem. More...
 
May 19, 2007
Orlando Sentinel, "Victory Against Ford After Third Jury Trial in Seat Belt Defect Case; Jury awards Orange man $32.5M in '96 collision"
          A northwest Orange County man who suffered severe brain injuries in a 1996 car accident when a seat belt failed was awarded $32.5 million Thursday by a local jury. After a third trial in a long-disputed case, an Orange Circuit Court jury ruled that a restraint-system defect caused the head injury to Mark Force, now 38. It also ruled that Ford Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. -- which designed the seat-belt system for part-owner Ford -- were negligent for failing to warn consumers about the seat-belt defect in the 1993 Ford Escort driven by Force. More...
 
May 14, 2007
WBZ-TV.com, "Could Your Car Have a Dangerous Defect"
         Our I-Team has uncovered a serious gap in the system designed to notify you about life-threatening defects in your vehicle. More...
 
May 7, 2007
KUAM News, "Mitsubishi Montero Rollover Accident"

         A 25-year-old Dededo man was arrested in connection with a car crash that happened over the weekend on Route 3 in Dededo. More...

 
April 23, 2007
Montgomery Advertiser, "Wal-Mart to pay $4 million in tire suit"
          Wal-Mart will pay a $4 million judgment to Carolyn Thorne in a lawsuit stemming from a tire failure three years go that caused a wreck and left the local woman paralyzed from her injuries. Thorne was paralyzed in a one-vehicle accident on April 24, 2004, when the tread on the left rear tire of her Ford Expedition separated, causing the SUV to flip into the median on I-85. More...
 
April 20, 2007
Associated Press, "Alabama Jury returns $4 million verdict against Wal-Mart For Tire Shop Negligent Supervision | Tire Blowout | Explorer Rollover"
          A Montgomery woman who was paralyzed in a 2004 rollover crash that occurred when the tread on one of her SUV's tires separated has been awarded $4 million in a judgment against Wal-Mart, whose service center failed to spot the defective tire. Thorne was driving her Ford Expedition to a business seminar in La Grange, Ga. when the tire tread separated and caused her to lose control, Allen said. The SUV rolled over one time and the roof was crushed down to the steering wheel, he said. More...
 
April 19, 2007
Associated Press, "Chevrolet Blazer has highest driver death rate"
          General Motors Corp. vehicles had the highest and lowest driver death rates from 2002 through 2005, according to a study being released Thursday by the insurance industry. Two-door, two-wheel drive Chevrolet Blazers built from 2001 to 2004 had the highest rate of 232 driver deaths per million registered vehicles during the four-year span, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found. By contrast, the Chevrolet Astro minivan had the lowest rate with only seven deaths per million registered vehicles. It was followed by the Infiniti G35, BMW 7 Series and the Toyota 4Runner. More...
 
April 10, 2007
Associated Press, "Ford recalls SUVs for brake trouble"
500,000 Escapes from 2001-2004 linked to potential engine fire danger

          Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday it was recalling more than 500,000 Ford Escape sport utility vehicles after receiving reports of engine fires linked to corrosion on antilock brake connectors. Ford said the recall involved 444,880 Escapes from the 2001-2004 model years in the United States, and about 75,000 Escapes in Canada, Mexico and Europe. The recall does not affect hybrid versions of the SUV, the automaker said. More...
 
March 21, 2007
Associated Press, "Lawsuit blames tire in Los Angeles freeway crash that killed five"
          A lawsuit claims a defective tire caused a pickup truck crash on a Southern California freeway that killed five family members. The suit, filed Tuesday in federal court, accuses Continental Tire North America Inc. of wrongful death, negligence, product liability and breach of implied warranty. It was filed on behalf of two women whose mother, father and 4-year-old brother died in the March 15 crash. More...
 
March 17, 2007
The St. Augustine Record, "St. Johns County woman injured as 'parked' car rolls"
          A 45-year-old St. Johns County woman is in Shands Medical Center Jacksonville after a freak accident Friday. Teresa Meador told St. Johns County Sheriff's deputies she got out of her 2004 Ford Explorer to check the mailbox at her home on South Bar-B-Ranch Road shortly after noon Friday. The SUV began backing up, catching her and dragging her underneath, said Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. Chuck Mulligan. More...
 
March 16, 2007
Los Angeles Times, "5 Killed in wreck on 10 Freeway in Ontario (California)"
         Investigators are trying to determine if a separated tire tread may have caused a pickup truck to veer out of control and slam into a tree Thursday morning on the shoulder of the 10 Freeway in Ontario, killing five family members, including two children. More...
 
March 9, 2007
Lawyers USA, "50M punitive award sidesteps High Court ruling"
          In the first major punitive damages award since the U.S. Supreme Court placed new limits on punitive damages earlier this year, a Los Angeles jury ordered DaimlerChrysler to pay $5.2 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitives to a man run over by his own truck. More...
 
March 9, 2007
Associated Press, "LA jury says DaimlerChrysler must pay $54 million in truck death"
          A jury found that DaimlerChrysler must pay about $54 million to the family of a longshoreman who was killed by a Dodge truck that backed over him at the Port of Los Angeles, attorneys said Friday. A Superior Court jury awarded damages to the family of Richard Mraz, 38, of San Pedro, in a negligence and product liability suit. More...
 
March 9, 2007
Long Beach Press Telegram, "$55.2M award in port death; Jury finds DaimlerChrysler negligent in alleged 'park-to-reverse' defect"
          The family of a longshoreman who was run over by a Dodge pickup at a container terminal in 2004 has been awarded $55.2 million by a jury who found the truck mechanically defective. More...
 
March 9, 2007
Wire Services, "San Pedro family verdict: $50 million; Punitive award for a death blamed on a faulty vehicle produced by DaimlerChrysler follows decision granting compensatory damages"
          A San Pedro woman and her three children were awarded $50 million in punitive damages Wednesday in a wrongful death suit against DaimlerChrysler Corp. A Los Angeles Superior Court jury found that DaimlerChrysler knowingly and intentionally failed to cure a defect that led to the May 1, 2004, death of 38-year-old Richard Mraz, according to Robert J. Nelson, attorney for Mraz's widow, Adriana Mraz. More...
 
March 9, 2007
Detroit News, "DCX loses suit in Dodge owner's death; L.A. jury awards $55M to Dakota driver's wife, who contends truck's defect killed husband"
          A Los Angeles County jury Wednesday slapped DaimlerChrysler AG with a $55 million verdict in a trial stemming from the April 2004 death of a 38-year-old longshoreman killed in an accident involving his 1992 Dodge Dakota. More...
 
March 7, 2007
The Star, "Police couple die in collision blamed on blowout"
         A road accident has claimed the lives of two police officers and injured three other people. More...
 
March 7, 2007
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, "Woman killed, two injured in rollover car crash"

         A woman was killed and her husband and 5-month-old baby were injured Tuesday when they were thrown from their car in a rollover crash. More...

 
March 7, 2007
Press Release: $54.4 Million Verdict Imposed Against DaimlerChrysler Corporation For Failing To Fix Known Transmission "Park-to-Reverse" Defect That Killed Young Father At San Pedro | Long Beach Maritime Terminal
          Robert J. Nelson, Scott P. Nealey, and Chuck Naylor, counsel for Adriana Mraz and her three children in a wrongful death action against DaimlerChrysler Corporation, announced that a California-state jury today returned a $54.4 million punitive damages award against DaimlerChrysler for knowing about and intentionally failing to cure a defect in millions of its vehicles. On March 2, 2007, the same jury found DaimlerChrysler liable for the death of Richard Mraz and returned a verdict of $5.2 million in compensatory damages for Mrs. Mraz and her children. More...
 
March 6, 2007
Detroit News, "Texan's death rekindles Ford switch issue; Family of retiree files suit blaming component linked with engine fires"
          Al Gavegan Sr.'s death in a house fire last summer left family and friends in San Antonio searching for answers -- and they say the evidence leads straight to Ford Motor Co. and a faulty electrical switch. More...
 
March 5, 2007
Local 6, "Bikers Killed When Tire Blows"
          A husband and wife died after their motorcycle wrecked Sunday on Interstate 4 in what officials called a Bike Week related crash. More...
 
February 20, 2007
Calgary Sun, "Death of girl called tragic accident" [Automobile power window dangers]
          Police are calling the death of a two-year old girl a tragic accident after she got her head caught in the power window of a vehicle while her mother was running an errand. The accident happened after the mother stopped to run a quick errand on the way to dropping her six-year-old son off at school. She left her children in the vehicle with the engine running. More...
 
February 20, 2007
Bloomberg News, "Honeywell loses seat belt verdict; Federal jury in Texas awards $24 million to the family of a teen who was killed in a crash"
          Honeywell International Inc. was ordered by a Texas jury to pay $24 million to the family of an 18-year-old woman who was killed in a sport utility vehicle rollover accident. More...
 
February 18, 2007
Newark Star-Ledger, "SUV Rollover caused by tire blowout"
         Two people were injured when their SUV struck a guardrail and rolled over twice on the Garden State Parkway yesterday, State Police said. More...
 
 
January 19, 2007
CBS 3 (Philadelphia), "SUV dangers include 'frontovers'"
          A CBS 3 investigation found a driving danger that has killed dozens of children. You think you are doing everything right to protect your family, but Investigative Reporter Jim Osman shows how a New Jersey couple, who also thought they had their two-year old son safeguarded, ended up planning his funeral. More...
 
Untitled Document
December 29, 2006
New Jersey Law Journal, "NJ Judge OKs $14.5M Settlement in Class Action Over Bad Jeep Brakes"
          A New Jersey judge has approved a $14.5 million settlement in a national class action alleging defective brakes on Jeep Grand Cherokees. More...
 
December 27, 2006
Insurance Journal, "Chrysler Recalls Vehicles to Reprogram Brake System Computers"
          DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group said Friday it was recalling more than 60,000 vehicles to reprogram a brake system computer to avoid the loss of antilock brakes and traction control. More...
 
December 9, 2006
The Post and Courier, "Judge Refuses new trial in $31 million accident verdict"
          A judge refused to order a new trial after a jury awarded $31 million to the family of passenger injured in a Ford rollover accident. More...
 
December 6, 2006
Associated Press, "GM opens rollover test facility; automaker hopes to develop sensors for special air bags to help prevent ejections"
          General Motors Corp. on Tuesday unveiled a $10-million crash test facility that will help the automaker study rollover crashes. The Detroit-based company also said that by 2012 it would make rollover-enabled air bags a standard feature on all its retail vehicles. The air bags currently are used on 43% of GM's trucks. More...
 
December 6, 2006
The Napa Valley Register, "Napa Mom Dies on Trail"
          A Napa mother, Kelli Lynn Bruner, 37 lost her life early Tuesday morning in a single-vehicle crash on Silverado Trail, south of Hagen Road. More...
 
December 5, 2006
ABC News, "Rollovers Account for 33 Percent of all Auto Realted Deaths"
          Rollovers account for 3 percent of all auto accidents but nearly 33 percent of all auto-related deaths. General Motors Corp. is trying to do something about that startling statistic. More...
 
November 4, 2006
Enterprise News, "Lawsuit Blames Ford Motor Co. for Death"
          A trial began Thursday in the case of a Beaumont family which is suing Ford Motor Co., claiming the design of their SUV was defective and led to the death of their son in a 2004 accident. More...
 
October 18, 2006
Arizona Daily Star, "Tire Treads Separate, Three die in SUV rollover crash"
          Three people were killed and three others were injured in a rollover crash on Interstate 10 near the Cochise-Pima county line Monday. All of the deceased and injured are from Tucson, said Officer Jim Oien, a Department of Public Safety spokesman. They are all brothers and cousins who work together. More...
 
October 15, 2006
The Bakersfield Californian, "Man Killed In Tread Separation Accident"
          A man killed in a crash on Interstate 5 near Valprado Road on Friday afternoon has been identified by the Kern County coroner's office. More...
 
September 30, 2006
          Federal investigators say the tire failure of the van that crashed Sept. 26, 2005, killing eight Utah State University students and their instructor, has parallels to two 15-passenger van accidents in 2001. More...
 
September 14, 2006
San Francisco Chronicle, "Anti-Rollover Tech Required by 2012"
          New automobiles will be required to have anti-rollover technology by the 2012 model year, which should save thousands of lives annually, the government's traffic safety agency said Thursday. More...
 
September 6, 2006
Los Angeles Times, "34 Are Hurt When Bus Rolls Over on Off-Ramp"
          A bus traveling from New York to Boston rolled over on an interstate offramp in Auburn, injuring 34 people, authorities said. More...
 
August 11, 2006
WSBTV.com, "Women's Truck Goes Up In Flames While Parked"
        Cassandra Miles says about an hour after she had parked her 2001 Ford F-150 in the driveway near her garage Wednesday – she heard the truck’s alarm start going off. More...
 
August 3, 2006
USA Today, "Ford recalls 1.2M trucks over fire hazard; almost 6M vehicles recalled for issue"
          Ford recalled 1.2 million trucks, sport-utility vehicles and vans on Thursday amid concerns of potential engine fires, expanding upon one of the largest vehicle recalls in history. Ford Motor said the recall was tied to the cruise control deactivation switch system, which could corrode over time, overheat and catch fire. Learn more about the Ford truck fire hazard vehicle recall.
  
August 3, 2006
San Francisco Chronicle, "Ford Issues Recall, Sees 2Q Loss"
         Ford Motor Co., already reeling from business setbacks, recalled 1.2 million trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans Thursday amid concerns about potential engine fires.  Ford said the recall was tied to the speed control deactivation switch system, which could corrode over time, overheat and ignite. It builds upon one of the largest recalls in U.S. history. More...
 
August 2, 2006
The Detroit News, "Tire Makers Try to Protect Safety History Data"
         A federal judge on Monday spurned a request from tire makers who wanted a ban on releasing detailed information about tires and their safety history. More
 
July 24, 2006
The Wall Street Journal, "Bridgestone Unit Widens Tire-Recall Efforts"
         Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC said it is taking additional steps, including sending letters to current owners of certain Ford Explorers, to make sure tires recalled in 2000 and 2001 have been taken off the road. More...
 
July 22, 2006
Detroit News, "Check tires:Tire maker will warn owners that some tires recalled in 2000-01 may still be on the road"
Six years after a multi-billion dollar recall of 6.5 million Firestone tires linked to hundreds of rollover injuries and deaths, the tire maker is making a renewed effort to notify customers that tens of thousands of the tires may still be on the road.

Bridgestone/Firestone North America Tire LLC, the Nashville, Tenn.-based subsidiary of Japan's Bridgestone Corp., said Friday it will notify customers again of the potential hazard. The action follows reports of at least five serious recent accidents tied to recalled tires, including the May 21 death of an 11-year-old boy in California.
 
July 21, 2006
City News Service, "Bridgestone Recall"
         Bridgestone Firestone today renewed its recall of defective tires made for the Ford Explorer and other SUVS in the late 1990s, as two more lawsuits were filed against the company in Los Angeles. More...
 
July 21, 2006
Associated Press Worldstream , "Bridgestone Firestone to Notify US Owners of Recalled Tires"
         Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, seeking to finish the massive tire recalls it began six years ago, said Friday it would notify owners to bring in 200,000 recalled tires that may still be on vehicles or used as spares. More...
 
July 21, 2006
CNN, "Firestone tires recall linked to recent deaths; Firestone announces renewed recall after recent deaths and injuries in rollovers involving SUVs"
Firestone announced a renewed recall effort Friday for its radial tires, mainly spares, still remaining on the Ford Explorer and similar SUVs from the 1990s. More...
 
July 21, 2006
Associated Press, "Bridgestone Firestone to Notify Owners of Recalled Tires"
          Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, seeking to finish the massive tire recalls it began six years ago, said Friday it will notify owners to bring in 200,000 recalled tires that may still be on vehicles or used as spares. More...

Learn more about tire failures, tire defects and personal injury vehicle lawsuits.
  
July 17, 2006
News-Democrat, "Collinsville woman settles lawsuit for $7 million; Husband died in camper fire caused by faulty refrigerator"
          A Collinsville woman whose husband died in a camper fire due to a faulty refrigerator has settled a lawsuit for $7 million, and her attorney suspects that as many as 12,000 recreational vehicles have similar refrigerators which could cause fires. More...
  
July 12, 2006
CNN Money, "Toyota's totally bizarre recall; Why would Toyota issue a recall designed to make vehicles less safe?"
          This fall, Toyota will voluntarily recall nearly 160,000 Toyota Tundra pickups so that they can be made less safe for children riding in the front seat. More...
  
July 8, 2006
The Record (Bergen County, NJ), "Fatal Rollovers Cause Still Unknown"
          Authorities said Friday they had no new developments in their investigation of a New Milford woman's death in an SUV rollover Wednesday night. More...
 
July 3, 2006
Rubber & Plastics News, "Safety Group Urges BFS to Reissue Tire Recall Notification"
         A safety research group with ties to trial lawyers is asking the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to initiate a recall query on the August 2000 recall of 6.5 million Firestone ATX and Wilderness radial tires. More...
 
June 28, 2006
Bloomberg News, "Ford Loses Appeal in Windstar Seat Belt Suit"
          Ford Motor Co. lost its appeal of a $30-million verdict by a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury that found the company sold Windstar minivans with a defective seat belts.
          Ford was sued by relatives of Johan Karlsson, who was 5 years old in 1996 when the family's minivan hit a roll of steel that fell from a truck on a highway, breaking the child's spine and leaving him a paraplegic.
  
June 13, 2006
Reuters, "Connecticut urges probe into Jeep Grand Cherokee"
          Connecticut urged federal regulators on Tuesday to probe possible acceleration flaws in late-model Jeep Grand Cherokees after a 52-year-old man was run over and killed by one in a car wash.
          Connecticut authorities said they had received several reports of Jeep Grand Cherokees suddenly accelerating out of car washes while changing gears to drive from neutral. More...
  
June 13, 2006
Associated Press, "Stability Control Gear Cuts Auto Deaths, Study Finds"
          Ten thousand fatal automobile crashes a year, or nearly one-third of such accidents in the U.S., could be prevented if more vehicles were equipped with technology that helps to keep them from rolling over, the insurance industry says in a study released today. More...
  
June 13, 2006
Bloomberg News, "Chrysler Recalls Grand Cherokees for Seat Fires"
          DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler unit recalled 111,687 Jeep Grand Cherokees after some heated front seats on the sport utility vehicles caught fire.
          The carmaker received 32 reports of fires or overheating, with 15 injuries, said a spokesman at Chrysler's headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich. He said at least six lawsuits had been filed by owners who were burned. The recall affects 2003 and 2004 models.
          Also, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Volkswagen was recalling 1998 through 2000 models of its Audi A6 and S6 models for a second time. A short circuit in dashboard wiring might not have been properly repaired after a 2004 recall, the agency said.
  
June 8, 2006
11Alive.com (Atlanta, GA), "'Defect' Blamed in Toddler's Death"
          A toddler was killed Tuesday night in front of his Cobb County home when a minivan, with its engine off, rolled over him. According to police, another child had been able to shift the minivan out of "park" setting the vehicle in motion. More...
  
May 31, 2006
Los Angeles Times, "U.S. Reviewing Bridgestone's Steeltex Tires"
          Steeltex tires from Bridgestone Corp. are being reviewed by U.S. auto safety regulators after a Pasadena lawyer claimed they were linked to accidents that killed 57 people. More...
    
May 1, 2006
Associated Press, "GM to Recall About 40,000 Pickup Trucks"
          General Motors Corp. is recalling about 400,000 pickup trucks due to defective brake lights. The affected vehicles are the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon from the 2004-2006 model years and the 2006 Isuzu i-280 and i-350. More...
  
April 24, 2006
The Arizona Republic, "Arizona Doesn't Tread Lightly"
          Every summer, hundreds of drivers experience sudden and sometimes catastrophic tread separations mostly caused by a combination of poor maintenance, tire damage and excess heat. More...
 
April 6, 2006
Albuquerque Journal, "Ford Is Sued After Deadly Area Crash"
        The Explorer rolled over in the road and continued into the median between the northbound and southbound I-25 lanes. The Explorer came to rest on its roof. More...
 
April 4, 2006
Appellate Court Affirms Jury Verdict Finding Ford Escort Defective
          The Court of Appeals of Tennessee at Knoxville upheld a Cumberland County trial court’s decision in Potter, et al. v. Ford Motor Company. Learn more about defective Ford Escorts and lawsuits relating to Ford Escort defects.
 
March 17, 2006
Detroit News, "But GM won't concede defeat in $18.6 million jury award to woman paralyzed in 1997 crash"
          It's been nearly nine years since Penny Shipler's spine was crushed when the roof of a 1996-model Chevrolet S-10 Blazer collapsed around her in a rollover accident. But it wasn't until last week that the paralyzed Nebraska woman apparently won her long legal battle against General Motors Corp.
  
March 3, 2006
Bloomberg News, "Ford said risky tires were OK for SUV; Replacements for Explorer did poorly in rollover tests"
          Ford Motor Co. approved replacement tires for its Explorer sport utility vehicle that made it just as likely to roll over as the originals that Ford blamed for more than 200 deaths.
  
March 3, 2006
Washington Post, "Jury Awards Family $8 Million in Death; Oakton High Student One of Two Killed by Trucker Who Fell Asleep"
          A Fairfax County jury awarded $8 million yesterday to the family of an Oakton High School student who was killed in 2002 when a truck driver fell asleep behind the wheel and crushed the car the teenager was riding in. More...
 
February 18, 2006
Bloomberg News, "Lawsuits cost Ford $255 million"
          Ford Motor Co.'s strategy of going to trial to fight vehicle-accident lawsuits cost the automaker more than $255 million in verdicts it lost last year. Ford, the No. 2 U.S. automaker, lost seven verdicts of $20 million or more last year in lawsuits claiming defects linked to rollovers and other accidents, compared with one award against the rest of the industry, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
          The number of large losses, higher than in the previous five years combined, may prompt Ford to reconsider its strategy of refusing to settle before trial, Stanford University law professor Robert Rabin said. The verdicts also may hurt Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford's effort to improve its safety image and regain market share, analysts said.
  
February 13, 2006
Lawyers Weekly USA, "Ford Must Pay $29 M in Auto Accident"
         A Texas jury ordered Ford Motor Co. to pay $29 million on Jan. 27 to a woman who was paralyzed in a rollover accident caused, at least in part, by a tire defect. More...
 
February 13, 2006
Detroit News, "Limited recall riles GM owners; NHTSA monitors brake callback in 20 states and D.C. as complaints mount"
          General Motors Corp. last year recalled 1.35 million trucks and SUVs in 20 states and Washington, D.C., to clean brake sensors that could malfunction and cause accidents.
          Despite the recalls, though, GM is struggling to move beyond questions about the anti-lock brakes on its best-selling Chevrolet Silverado pickup and seven other models. Reports continue to pour in from states not covered under the recall -- and some from states like Michigan that are included -- of accidents and near-misses from truck owners experiencing braking problems.
  
February 4, 2006
Associated Press, "Design changes reduce deaths in vehicles struck by SUVs, pickups"
          Design changes in sport utility vehicles and pickups have reduced deaths in cars struck by the large vehicles, a study says. The number of deaths of drivers in cars caught in side-impact crashes with SUVs dropped nearly 50 percent when automakers lowered the height of SUVs or added impact-absorbing bars below the front bumpers, said the report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
  
February 3, 2006
ConsumerAffairs.com, "Recalled Trucks Burn As Ford Fiddles; Massive Recall Moves Slowly as New Fires Break Out"
          Despite a massive recall announced in September, Ford trucks are continuing to catch fire and burn -- some of them covered by the recall, some not. More about the Ford fire recall.
  
February 2, 2006
WSBTV.com, "Trucks Burst Into Flames, Even When Turned Off"
          Some of the most popular trucks on the road just burst into flame while they're shut off in the drive way. Ford Motor Company has a recall to handle the problem. But some customers complain about how Ford handles those whose trucks have already burned up.
          A Kennesaw, Georgia couple blames their truck for starting the fire that killed their four year old daughter. New Year’s Day 2004, firefighters couldn't stop the home of Tanika and Juan Washington from burning to the ground. No one could save four year old Blake. She was trapped, and died in her bed. “Just to know that Tanika was screaming for her baby and was completely helpless just makes me sick,” recounted Grant Bell, a family friend. More...
 
January 24, 2006
Herald Salinas (CA), "Suit over fatal truck crash settled for $4.5M"
          An international lawsuit stemming from a 2004 fatal crash along Highway 101 in Prunedale was settled Monday in Monterey for $4.5 million after less than three full days of trial. More about the Salinas fatal truck crash...
 
January 9, 2006
The Los Angeles Times, "Low Scores for SUVs, Pickups; Only six vehicles earn the insurance institute's top rank in rear crashes."
          Head restraints in several sport utility vehicles and pickups poorly protected test dummies from neck injuries in a simulated rear crash at 20 mph, the insurance industry reported Sunday. More about SUV safety standards...
  
January 6, 2006
The Denver Post, "Death spurs car-window debate; Springs tot choked by glass"
          The story of a 3-year-old taken off life support four days after being choked by an electric car window points out the need to eliminate certain switches and other potentially fatal window designs in U.S. cars, a child safety advocate said. Power car window child death article continued...
  
January 3, 2006
Associated Press, "Study Shows Children No Safer in SUVs"
          Children are no safer riding in sport utility vehicles than in passenger cars, largely because the doubled risk of rollovers in SUVs cancels out the safety advantages of their greater size and weight, according to a study. More...
 
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December 30, 2005
Star-Telegram [Fort Worth, TX], "Recent court cases raise questions about trucking safety"
          In what one attorney says is an indication of a “disturbing pattern of dangerous activity” by the nation’s trucking industry, a Fort Worth waste-disposal company became the second local trucking firm this month to be hit with a multimillion-dollar payout after one of its vehicles was involved in a fatal crash.
          IESITX agreed to pay the family of Jimmy D. Jordan of Fort Worth $2.25 million in an out-of-court settlement reached late Thursday. The waste-disposal company and the family were scheduled to go to trial in a Tarrant County civil court next week. Jordan was killed in a March 2004 accident on Interstate 30. More...
  
December 29, 2005
Associated Press Financial Wire , "Michelin Recalls Pilot Sport Tires"
       Michelin North America Inc. said Thursday it is recalling about 6,500 tires in its Pilot Sport line in the United States and Canada, saying the tires don't meet the company's quality standards. More...
 
December 15, 2005
The Galveston County Daily News, "Ford hit with historic $16.6M Explorer verdict"
          A 405th State District Court jury hit the Ford Motor Co. with a $16.6 million judgment in the case of a rollover crash that killed a boy, 13.
          The April 2003 wreck involved a Ford Explorer purchased at McRee Ford in Dickinson. Dianne Reding rolled the vehicle after what she said was a series of swerves that started when she tried to avoid hitting a deer near Canyon Lake.
          Defense attorneys for Ford said Reding’s reckless driving caused the resulting crash that killed Andrew Reding, the driver’s son. However, Galveston attorney Tony Buzbee, representing plaintiff Reding, said Ford had known for years that the Explorer’s tires were too narrow to be safe. More...
  
December 2, 2005
Detroit Free Press, "Group calls for Ford to unseal safety tests"
          A Washington auto-safety group launched a new effort Thursday to unseal safety tests from Ford Motor Co.'s Volvo division, saying the tests highlight flaws in a new standard for vehicle roof strength backed by federal regulators and automakers.
          While the contents of the documents are well known, safety advocates say making them publicly available would force the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to rethink its new rule for how well car and truck roofs should protect people in rollovers. More...
  
November 28, 2005
Automotive News, "Senators rebuke NHTSA on tougher roofs proposal"
          Two key senators are warning federal regulators that their effort to use tougher roof-strength rules to block rollover lawsuits against automakers may not be legal.
          The warning to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration came from Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. They are the chairman and ranking minority member, respectively, of the Senate Judiciary Committee. More...
  
November 20, 2005
Detroit News, "[Ford] Explorer roof called too weak"
         Many of Ford Motor Co.'s best-selling Explorer SUVs from the 1999 to 2001 model years likely do not meet a crucial safety requirement intended to protect passengers in rollover crashes, a safety engineering firm claimed in a petition filed with the federal government.
         Safety Analysis and Forensic Engineering, which performs research for plaintiffs suing automakers, says internal Ford documents show that a substantial number of 1999 to 2001 Explorers likely do not comply with the federal vehicle roof strength standard. More...
  
November 16, 2005
Reuters, "Ford recall: Gas tanks could snap off; Vehicles involved include flagship Ford Five Hundred sedan, Freestyle wagon, Mercury Montego"
          Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday it is recalling nearly 226,000 vehicles in the United States and Canada, including its flagship Ford Five Hundred sedan and Freestyle wagon, because of fire risks. Vehicles involved in the recall are from the 2005 model year and include the Crown Victoria, Lincoln Town Car, Mercury Grand Marquis and Montego sedans, Ford spokeswoman Kristen Kinley said.
          Ford is recalling 127,493 Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego sedans and Freestyle wagons because the straps that secure the fuel tank to the vehicle body may break, causing the fuel tank and fuel tank heat shield to drop onto the driveshaft or exhaust system, the automaker and U.S. safety regulators said. This could cause a fuel leak and result in a fire in these vehicles, according to the Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
          The automaker is recalling 98,444 Crown Victoria, Lincoln Town Car and Mercury Grand Marquis sedans because on certain vehicles the battery cable may scrape on an attaching bolt and could lead to a fire. No injuries or accidents have been linked to the recall, Kinley said.
 
November 10, 2005
St. Petersburg Times, "Small SUVs Can Be Big Problem"
         The two-door Ford Explorer that rolled over on the Howard Frankland Bridge and sank in Tampa Bay is one of the most dangerous vehicles on the road, according to insurance industry data. More...
 
November 6, 2005
St. Petersburg Times, "Ford explorer Sport Crashes Into River"
        Mujo Jakupovic and his wife, Amira, had been driving east from St. Petersburg on the Howard Frankland about 1 p.m. with their sons, 13-year-old Emrah and 7-year-old Amar. About 200 yards from the end of the bridge, the left rear tire of their green, 1998 Ford Explorer Sport blew out. More...
 
November 03, 2005
Waco Tribune-Herald (TX), "Bus crash passengers win $17.5 million in damages"
          A McLennan County jury decided Thursday that the bus involved in a deadly 2003 Interstate 35 crash near Hewitt was defective because it didn't have seat belts and awarded $17.5 million in damages to bus passengers.
          After 15 hours of deliberation, jurors in the four-week accident liability trial gave the plaintiffs everything they sought in their lawsuit against Motor Coach Industries, a Schaumburg, Ill.-based bus manufacturer.
          "A person who sits on a bus ought to have the opportunity to be as safe as possible," said David Hinton, of Temple, whose mother Dolores Hinton was killed in the accident. "To not have a seat belt on a bus, knowing what buses can do in an accident, is unacceptable. Clearly we had to have a trial in order to prove that point."
          Motor Coach spokeswoman Pat Plodzeen said the company would appeal the verdict.
  
October 28, 2005
Reuters, "GM recalls nearly 106,000 SUVs - Chevy Trailblazers, GMC Envoys may have faulty door latch"
          General Motors said on Friday that it was recalling nearly 106,000 sport utility vehicles in the United States and Canada to fix a rear door latch that may not close properly due to corrosion.
          Alan Adler, a spokesman for the world's largest automaker, said the 105,893 vehicles affected by the potential safety defect included Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT and GMC Envoy XL SUVs from the 2002-2003 model years.
          He said one alleged injury had been caused by the faulty door latch.
          A small number of 2003 model Isuzu Ascender SUVs are also affected, Adler said. GM builds the Ascender for Isuzu Motors Ltd.
          A total of about 98,000 of the recalled vehicles were registered or sold in Northeast and Midwest U.S. states, where corrosion can occur due to winter road salt.
          An estimated 7,893 vehicles sold in eastern Canada are also affected, Adler said.
  
October 26, 2005
The New York Times, "Safety Decoder: How to Make Sense of the Crash Ratings"
          The Ford Escape is "a genius on anything from dirt to gravel to granite," at least according to a recent ad in Maxim magazine. Not only does it have "brains for rocks," whatever that means, it has a computer that checks for "wheel slippage 200 times a second."
          Not that any of that helped on the government's rollover test. The Escape, a sport-utility vehicle, tipped up on two wheels during the test, a potentially deadly result. The ad does not mention that, of course. More...
 
October 13, 2005
Los Angeles Times, "Bridgestone, Ford Settle Tire Dispute"
         Tire maker Bridgestone Corp. agreed to pay $240 million to Ford Motor Co. to settle a cost-sharing dispute over a massive tire recall five years ago. More...
 
October 11, 2005
Associated Press, "Ford Explorer Sport Accident"
         Amanda Read Fomicheve was injured Monday afternoon when a driver lost control of her Ford Explorer Sport vehicle just before 1 p.m. and slammed into the car in front of her. More...
 
October 7, 2005
Associated Press, "Chrysler announces recalls affecting about 583,000 vehicles" ["Park-to-Reverse" transmission problems]
          DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group said Friday that it would voluntarily recall about 300,000 vehicles with a potential defect that could prevent the driver from placing the transmission in "park."
          The recall involves some 2005 model year Jeep Liberty, Jeep Wrangler, Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum, Dodge Dakota/Mitsubishi Raider pickups and Dodge Durango vehicles equipped with some six-cylinder engines and automatic transmissions. More...
  
October 3, 2005
KGBT TV (Harlingen, Texas), "Jury Awards Family 30 Million Dollars"
          Ford was recently in the news for a recall involving faulty cruise control switches. But this lawsuit alleges something else. The plaintiff's attorney claims the cab of the truck wasn't strong enough to prevent the fatality and a Cameron County jury agreed that Ford was negligent in the death of 16 year old Jessica Garcia. She died in March of 2004 near Sebastian, Texas when the 1993 Ford F-150 she was traveling in with her parents was clipped by another car and then rolled over.
          While the jury agreed that the other driver was partly at fault for causing the accident, they also agreed that the cab wasn't strong enough to prevent her death. Some of the most compelling evidence in the trial was a demonstration of what happens to the same model truck after being dropped only nine inches. The plaintiff's attorney says the top of the Ford cab crushes to the seat's headrest.
  
September 27, 2005
The Salt Lake Tribune, "Rollover deaths stun USU; School's field trip to a Box Elder farm ends in a crash, killing nine"
          A Utah State University field trip to a Box Elder County farm ended in tragedy Monday afternoon when a van carrying the students blew a tire on Interstate 84 and rolled four times down an embankment, throwing all 11 on board from the van and killing nine.
          The driver [and five passengers] were pronounced dead by emergency crews when they arrived at the crash site about seven miles west of Tremonton. More...
  
September 14, 2005
Bloomberg, "Ford Loses $42 Million Texas Verdict in Rollover Suit"
          A Texas jury today found that Ford Motor Co. should pay $42 million to the family of a 10-year-old boy who was killed when he was partly ejected from a Ford Expedition in a 2004 rollover accident. More...
  
September 7, 2005
CNN/Money, "Ford recalling 3.8 million vehicles; Trucks and SUVs recalled for cruise control switch that could cause fires"
          Ford Motor Co. is recalling about 3.8 million trucks and SUVs to fix a cruise control switch that could overheat and burn even when the vehicles are not running.
          The switches were the subject of a recent CNN investigation. More...
  
August 30, 2005
MSNBC.com, "GM recalls 800,000 pickups, SUVs; Automaker cites potential brake problems"
        General Motors Corp. said Tuesday it was recalling about 800,000 sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks in 14 northern states because corrosion was affecting the antilock brake system, leading to more than 200 low-speed crashes. More...
  
August 29, 2005
Automotive News, "Ford loses appeal of $47 million verdict in LS seat-latch lawsuit"
          The Georgia Court of Appeals has let stand a $47.7 million verdict against Ford Motor Co. stemming from the failure of the back-seat latch in a 2000 Lincoln LS. The award included almost $14 million in punitive damages. More...
  
August 15, 2005
WFMY News (Greensboro, NC), "Ford Trucks Catch Fire, Not Attention; Laura Voos saved the house but not the truck"
          Owners of thousands of Ford light trucks have a bigger concern than high fuel prices, their vehicles could catch fire. Even though they've been warned and offered a repair, CBS News reports that some of the owners are not doing anything about it.
          Laura Voos says her Ford pickup was parked and locked last week when it suddenly burst into flames in her Texas driveway. More...
  
July 23, 2005
The New York Times, "A Wider Inquiry on Fires in Ford Trucks"
          As Ford Motor faces numerous lawsuits and tries to determine why hundreds of its trucks have burst into flames, federal authorities have widened their investigation into whether a faulty cruise control switch is causing the fires. More...
  
July 18, 2005
San Francisco Chronicle, "Semi crashes on I-80, killing 3"
           Three people were killed and 10 others injured Monday when the driver of a tractor trailer lost control on Interstate 80 in Fairfield and plowed into seven vehicles, authorities said. The accident happened at 8:47 a.m. and closed the four westbound lanes of I-80 just east of Highway 12 for nearly 90 minutes as emergency workers tended to the injured and cleared the roadway. More...
  
July 17, 2005
The Detroit News, "Safety Agency Widens Investigation; NHTSA awaits Ford's internal report into the questionable part, which is in 16 million vehicles"
           With reports of vehicle fires mounting, Ford Motor Co. is racing to meet a mid-August deadline to provide federal investigators with details of its analysis of faulty cruise-control deactivation switches. More...
  
July 17, 2005
The Detroit News, "Danger Under the Hood; A little girl dies; attention turns to a faulty Ford part; More than 500 fires reported in pickups, SUVs; probe centers on cruise-control switch"
          The noise woke Tanika Washington just before dawn, a sound like heavy raindrops beating on the roof.
          But when she sat up in bed, she realized it was the crackling of fire.
          "I think something's burning," she said to her husband, Juan. "I think the house is on fire."
          And when Juan opened their bedroom door, a wall of fire was on the other side, raging through the hallway of their split-level home. In the minutes that followed, the house in northern Georgia burned to the ground, and four members of the Washington family escaped with their lives. More...
  
July 12, 2005
Associated Press, "Government probes Ford SUVs, Mustangs; NHTSA looking into throttle problems with 2002 Explorers, Mountaineers"
          The government has opened an investigation into the acceleration of some Ford Motor Co. sport utility vehicles and the company's Mustang sports car, officials said Tuesday.
          The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a posting on its Web site that it was investigating reports that the engine throttle became stuck in the open position in Ford Explorers and Mercury Mountaineers, causing unwanted vehicle acceleration. More...
  
July 7, 2005
St. Petersburg Times (Florida), "Tiremaker Settles Suit with Widow"
         The widow of an Inverness man who was killed in a 2001 accident when his tire blew out and caused his Ford minivan to flip on Interstate 75 has settled with the tire manufacturer, despite the company's insistence that it was not liable in the crash. More...
 
July 7, 2005
Associated Press, "Volkswagens, Fords, Toyotas Recalled"
          Volkswagen AG is recalling nearly 40,000 Jetta sedans in the United States because fuel could leak and start a fire, federal safety regulators said Thursday [July 7, 2005].
          Jettas from the 2005 model year are involved in the recall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said a fuel supply line clamp may not be properly positioned, which could lead to a leak. More...
  
July 1, 2005
Click2Houston.com, "NHTSA Requests More Documents In Ford Fire Investigation"
          The federal government is ordering the Ford Motor Co. to hand over more information in the ongoing probe into fires happening in certain trucks and sport utility vehicles. The development comes as the Local 2 Troubleshooter investigation into the fires prompts action from a member of Congress, the station reported Friday. More...
  
June 23, 2005
Los Angeles Times, "SUVs Improve in Rollover Ratings; Regulators credit the popularity of 'crossover' vehicles, which have lower centers of gravity"
          Car manufacturers are doing a better job designing sport utility vehicles to resist rollover accidents, U.S. safety regulators said Wednesday.
          Popular SUVs have earned increasingly high marks in government rollover tests over the last four years, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. More...
  
June 21, 2005
Safety Tread: Tampa Tribune, "Companies Settle In Fatal Crash"
DADE CITY — A Citrus County woman has reached a settlement in her lawsuit against Bridgestone/Firestone Co. and several other companies she said were responsible for a crash that killed her husband and injured their sons in July 2001. More...
 
June 21, 2005
Tennessean.com, "Judge slashes damages against carmaker"
          A Davidson County judge has drastically reduced the punitive damages against DaimlerChrysler in connection with an infant's death after a June 2001 minivan accident.
          Judge Hamilton Gayden yesterday cut from $98 million to $20 million the damages related to what a trial jury found to be faulty seat design on a 1998 Dodge Caravan that it said contributed to the death of 8-month-old Joshua Flax. More...
  
June 17, 2005
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Singer's mom sues SUV maker"
          The mother of the late hip-hop music star Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes is suing an automaker alleging it ignored warnings that its SUV was prone to roll over.
          Lopes, a rapper in the Grammy Award-winning Atlanta trio TLC, died in a one-car crash in 2002 while driving a red 2001 Mitsubishi Montero she rented while vacationing in Honduras. More...
  
June 16, 2005
BizJournals.com, "Lawsuit blames TI, Ford in woman's death"
          A lawsuit filed by the family of an Iowa woman who died in a fire last month claims Ford Motor Co. and Texas Instruments Inc. are guilty of negligence.
          The lawsuit claims that the death of Darletta Mohlis, who died from injuries from a fire in her home May 2, was the result of the failure of a cruise control deactivation switch inside her 1996 F-150 truck that was made by Texas Instruments. More...
  
June 9, 2005
Enterprise Records , "Skyway Crash Blamed Partly on Tire Wear"
         The California Highway Patrol said bad weather, balding tires and a young driver's inexperience combined to result in a rollover crash on the Skyway Wednesday. More...
 
June 7, 2005
KPRC Click2Houston.com, "Flames From Ford Pickup Destroy Neighboring Homes: Investigators Not Sure If Recalled Speed Control Switch Sparked Fire"
          A northeast Harris County homeowner scrambled to get his family and a neighboring family out of their homes early Tuesday morning after he discovered his pickup truck was on fire, Local 2 reported. More...
  
June 6, 2005
San Francisco Chronicle, "Nissan Maxima Gets Marginal Crash Rating"~
          The 2005 Nissan Maxima and Suzuki Verona received marginal ratings in crash tests released Sunday by the insurance industry. Researchers questioned how well the vehicles would protect occupants in side impact collisions.
          The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave the Chevrolet Malibu and Audi A4 its top score, good, in side impact tests of five 2005 model midsize sedans. The Volvo S60 rated the second-highest score of acceptable.
          The tests reflect what happens when vehicles are hit in the side by a pickup or sport utility vehicle. The latest results "show that more and more manufacturers are improving their vehicles to better protect occupants in side impact crashes," said Adrian Lund, the institute's chief operating officer.
          The institute gave the Maxima and Verona its second-lowest rating. Their side structures were unlikely to provide effective side protection, even with air bags