On Trial: Fiat Chrysler Fiery Crash Deaths & NHTSA’s Revolving Door


On Trial: Fiat Chrysler Fiery Crash Deaths & NHTSA’s Revolving Door

March, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Bloomberg reports on past and present trial of Fiat Chrysler tragedies and the role of NHTSA’s Revolving Door.“Jurors are poised to view grisly evidence of the June 2012 death of 4-year-old Remington Walden in the back seat of a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The SUV erupted in flames after being rear-ended at an intersection as his aunt drove him to a tennis lesson.

The family’s lawyers say the boy died screaming in a fire so intense his chest fused to the Jeep’s door. They said a medical examiner determined the child, strapped to a booster seat, was probably alive for as long as a minute, with the position of his body showing he died struggling to get out….

“The limited recall also raised concerns about the closeness of the regulating agency to the carmaker, said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Washington-based advocacy group Center for Auto Safety. The lead negotiator for NHTSA in the deal went to work for one of Fiat Chrysler’s law firms after the accord was reached.

Ditlow said he would use any verdict against the company in court to try to force NHTSA to reopen the investigation or expand the recall….”

“The big question now is what evidence will be presented at the trial,” “The executive’s testimony will figure prominently in the case, one of the first trials since the accord, Ditlow said. Claims of collusion between the government and the carmaker will be a focal point of the trial, including details of the meeting that led to the limited recall, he said.”  See 

http://www.ticotimes.net/2015/03/24/fiat-trial-on-childs-fiery-death-seen-renewing-push-for-jeep-recall

And as I wrote nearly a year ago Americans are still in danger of unfixed Jeep vehicles. See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog-unfixedjeeps.php

And Americans are still in danger of the “unfixed” NHTSA officials still in positions of power in and out of the agency.  See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/CFCV-MonthlyReport-March2014.pdf

Automotive News reports that more high level corporate officials are being deposed in the GM scandal.  Seehttp://www.autonews.com/article/20150320/OEM11/150329991/wagoner-akerson-depositions-being-sought-by-plaintiffs-lawyer
So we the people may learn more about who knew what, when, as the justice system uncovers these tragic stories – hopefully increasing the safety of America.

Auto makers and NHTSA can, and must, do better.

Lou

 


Fiat’s CEO Deposition in Fiery Death of Child Goes to Jurors

March, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Wall St. Journal reports:“Chrysler conducted a “thorough review” of older Jeeps and the design of their fuel tanks is “not a safety defect,” the chief executive of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV testified in a wrongful-death lawsuit over a 4-year-old boy killed in a fiery rear-end Jeep crash in 2012.”  See

If the jurors swallow this…what can ordinary citizens do?

Lou

 

Church Passenger Van Crash in FL & Multiple Tragedies (8 Deaths + Injuries)


Church Passenger Van Crash in FL & Multiple Tragedies (8 Deaths + Injuries)

March, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

News-Press reports:

“The eight people who died in the Glades County crash are being transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Lee County.

Five men and three women, all from Fort Pierce, died in the single-vehicle crash, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Eighteen people were traveling in the 2000 Dodge Ram Wagon B3500 Maxi from a “church convention,” Spokesman Lt. Gregory Bueno said. The standard seat capacity for the vehicle is 15.”  See

When will NHTSA — at the very least — issue an Actionable Consumer Advisory?
Lou

 

The Car Book and Auto Safety History and Progress

March, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

The Car Book has been reviewed in the context of the history of auto safety.

Reviewer John Cichowski kindly noted work of Care for Crash Victims.

See http://www.northjersey.com/news/transportation/car-book-last-word-on-safety-of-new-autos-1.1298350?page=all

People in both NJ and the world (with the benefit of the web) can benefit from reading this article and The Car Book.

This review is the latest in a long tradition of NJ auto safety work.  The people of NJ have been fortunate to have good auto safety work for many years.   See the late Dr. John H. Siegel’s work at NJ Medical School, p. 31 inhttps://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/CIREN1.pdf

One of the most prominent examples of the work Dr. Siegel, his team and many others, benefiting people of NJ was the nearly fatal crash of former Gov. Jon Corzine.   See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/lombardo-CTTI-Sept2011.pdf

The people of NJ benefit year after year from having one of the lowest crash fatality rates in the U.S. See http://www.fairwarning.org/2012/11/traffic-deaths-a-surprising-dimension-of-the-red-state-blue-state-divide/
As more people learn of the importance of auto safety and what they can do as consumers exercising their market power and as voters we can build a safer America and world.
Lou

Author Dies of Crash Injuries in a 2013 Corvette


Author Dies of Crash Injuries in a 2013 Corvette

March, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

NY Times carries Reuters report:“Thomas J. Stanley, author of the best-selling book, “The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy,” has died in a car crash near his home in suburban Atlanta, police said on Monday. He was 71.” Seehttp://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2015/03/02/arts/02reuters-usa-crash-millionaire.html?action=click&contentCollection=Your%20Money&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article

CBS46 reports:

“A spokesperson with Cobb County police said that Thomas Stanley, 71, of Marietta, was driving a 2013 Chevrolet Corvette westbound on Paper Mill Road when he was cut off by another man who was driving behind him.

When Stanley slowed down to make a left turn onto Atlanta Country Road, police said that 45-year-old Jeffrey Fettig, who was driving a 2006 Acura MDX, pulled up behind Stanley, cut to his left and crossed the yellow line into the opposite lanes of of traffic.

Police said they do not know why Fettig cut to Stanley’s left.

After Fettig collided with the font-left side of the Corvette Stanley was driving, both cars crashed into the yard of a nearby house. 

Stanley was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital where he died due to injuries from the crash.”

Read more: http://www.cbs46.com/story/28229986/man-killed-in-marietta-crash#ixzz3ThnoasVM The Car Book 2013 rated the 2013 Corvette a 2 out of 10 (1 = Worst, 10 = Best) on Safety Features.  

The Car Book 2015 also rated the 2015 Corvette a 2 out of 10 (10 = Best) on Safety Features.  
Could this tragedy have been avoided had the struck vehicle been a vehicle with a 10 rating for Safety Features such as the 2013 Volvo S60?   Perhaps.
Companies need to learn to incorporate safety.   And consumers need to wisely choose safety.
Lou