Teen Faces 9 Charges in Fatal Wreck
All eyes in the investigation into what caused a Ford Explorer to roll several times and kill four teens, are now focused on a possibly defective tire.
On the last day of school in June, one young man and eight friends got into his girlfriend’s family Ford, a 1997 Explorer SUV. On the way to the beach, a tire blew. Among all of the teens, this young man was the only one wearing his seat belt. The attorney, who represents four of the families involved, told the judge that the Cooper Tire was defective because it had been in the shop two weeks earlier.
He said Dale Earnhardt Jr. could have been driving the vehicle. Once a tire blows, keeping a Ford Explorer on the road, especially the notoriously unstable cars made before Ford added stability control would have been impossible.
The tire company has faced seven federal product liability and personal injury lawsuits since 1997 and in July, a Florida appeals court upheld a $1.5 million jury verdict against the company after a blowout on I-10 killed a man.
At an exhibition football game at Ed White High School, the four teens were remembered in a moment of silence. Our hearts go out to the parents of the children, who clearly had a tough time attending the game, but were grateful that their children are remembered.
The 15-year-old young man who was driving is facing four counts of driving without a license in the deaths of all four of his friends, who were killed when his SUV wrecked. This teen is also facing four counts of driving without a license causing serious bodily injury, and careless driving. That is a total of nine counts, eight of which are felonies. He is on home detention. For now, another high school, football practice, and church are the only activities he is allowed.
In an exclusive interview with the Florida Times Union after he was charged, the young man says he felt the left rear tire separate causing the car to pull strongly to the right then roll after it drifted into the grass off the right emergency lane.
The mother of one of the decedents says she will ask for mercy for the charged man, while the mother of another teen told WJXT-TV that she will feel relieved because the driver should not have been behind the wheel. In fact, some parents feel that the young teen driver did an excellent job bringing the car to the emergency lane before it rolled.
The Ford Explorer has a history of rolling, especially the older models with no stability control. And if the vehicle had an old tire or one of the faulty Bridgestone/Firestones that came with the vehicle, or if the family bought a replacement tire that was not as advertised, there may be some legal weight to the accused teen’s defense.
About the only thing the teen was doing right that day was wearing his seat belt. He said in the interview that he put it on while he was driving because he had a feeling.
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a SUV rollover accident in Florida, please contact the experienced Florida SUV rollover attorneys at Farah and Farah. We have helped many clients receive compensation from negligent drivers responsible for causing the auto accident and their injuries. Call 1-800-533-3555 for a free consultation.
Source story: http://www.news4jax.com/news/20535113/detail.html; http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/crime/2009-08-25/story/teen_driver_goes_home_families_fault_tire_in_i_295_crash
