A 2006 fatal crash involving a 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee and one more 4-year-old youngster burned to death, Cassidy Jarmon, is pictured in Cleburne, Texas.
Older Jeeps with fuel tanks situated behind the rear axle might lead to explosive testimony in case against Chrysler beginning trial in Georgia. This month, a loved ones whose 4-year-old son burned to death in the back of a 1999 Grand Cherokee is beginning trial against the automaker—and in contrast to most large organizations facing wrongful-death claims, Chrysler is refusing to settle.
Bryan and Lindsay Walden of Bainbridge, Georgia, brought the suit against Chrysler in July 2012, 4 months following their son, Remington, was killed when a 1997 Dodge Dakota rear-ended the ’99 Grand Cherokee in which he was riding. According to Automotive News, the boy only suffered a broken leg from the influence but “died screaming in a fire so intense his chest fused to the Jeep’s door” as he attempted to escape his booster seat. He may possibly have been alive for an complete minute even though engulfed in flames.
As heart-wrenching as this account is, the Waldens aren’t alone. There are more than 70 fire-associated deaths from rear-end collisions in older Grand Cherokees and Libertys, according to the Detroit News. Security advocates like Jenelle Embrey—who claimed to witness a mother and teen burn to death in a Grand Cherokee and later sent an on the internet petition with 128,000 signatures to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2013—say there are hundreds far more.
Embrey’s petition led to a NHTSA investigation that discovered greater-than-average fatality rates amongst 1993-1998 Grand Cherokee and 2002-2007 Liberty models. Chrysler contends that these are higher-speed, high-energy collisions, that the Jeeps are no less protected than their contemporaries, and that they met all safety standards of the time.
In June 2013, soon after initially refusing a NHTSA recall request, Chrysler did recall 1.56 million of those Jeeps and sent letters to yet another 710,000 owners of later, 1999-2004 Grand Cherokees as a “customer service campaign,” advising them to bring in their vehicles to have tow hitches installed.
On these Jeeps, the fuel tanks are positioned behind the rear axle just inches away from the rear bumper and have fuel filler hoses that run by means of the frame rails. Beginning with the redesigned 2005 Grand Cherokee, Chrysler repositioned the tank away from the rear bumper.
The trailer hitch is supposed to provide some additional measure of protection for the fuel tank, at least in low-speed collisions. But former NHTSA administrator Joan Claybrook says these hitches may really do more damage, citing a Grand Cherokee fire in 2006 throughout which the hitch pierced the tank. Claybrook, as element of Nader’s Center for Auto Safety, suggested that NHTSA require Chrysler to set up metal shields and reinforce the filler hose, and crash-test a car with these upgraded parts.
The Walden case presents a lot more trouble for Chrysler. As an alternative of a closed settlement, a jury will make a decision Chrysler’s fate and could simply open the door to further, effective lawsuits. Details from the case are currently getting created public, such as the deposition of Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne in January, who said that he does not think there is the “slightest proof that Grand Cherokee or the class that we’re talking about here are defective.”
That a tiny civil suit in Georgia is even involving the CEO of a giant, global automaker should be proof that these fuel tank fires have substance in court. It is not recognized whether or not Chrysler has settled any related cases.
Chrysler Goes To Trial Over Fiery Jeep Crash, Defends Fuel Tanks
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