Subject: [NEXTEL-1] FORD MOTOR: Family of State Trooper Sues Over Crown Victoria Car

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 06:57:15 -0400

C L A S S   A C T I O N   R E P O R T E R

Monday, June 23, 2003

FORD MOTOR: Family of State Trooper Sues Over Crown Victoria Car
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Ford Motor Company faces a lawsuit filed in Jackson County Court in Missouri
by a family of a state trooper who died last month in a squad car fire, the
Associated Press reports.  He was driving the Company's Crown Victoria
Police Interceptors.

Michael Newton, 25, was killed on May 22 when his parked patrol car was
struck by a pickup that was towing a flatbed trailer on Interstate 70 in
western Missouri.  Michael Nolte was sitting next to Mr. Newton and was
injured in the wreck.  Passersby were able to pull Mr. Nolte from the car,
but Mr. Newton was pinned and burned to death.

Mr. Nolte and the family of Michael Newton filed the suit, alleging the
squad car fire was caused in part by the location
of the car's fuel tank.  The suit was the latest in several claims against
the Company over the design of its Crown Victorias.

Ford spokeswoman Kristen Kinley told AP she couldn't comment on the suits
but said the cars are not defective.  She said deaths attributed to the fuel
tank's location - between the rear axle and rear bumper - were instead a
result of the high speeds at which patrol cars have been struck alongside
highways.

"The issue is the really unique use of the vehicle," Ms. Kinley said.

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