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

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