Two Suffern NY High School Teens Die In Collision With Dump Truck

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Posted on 1st April 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Two Suffern, N.Y., high school baseball players died Tuesday when a dump truck hit their car on Route 202 in Montebello, N.Y.

Vincent Crotty, 18, the driver of a Ford Focus, and his passenger Christopher Konkowski, 17, were pronounced dead at the scene.

The two Suffern High School seniors, who both played for the Mounties baseball team, were on their way to practice at about 11 a.m. when the crash took place.

Crotty’s Focus crossed a double line and was then hit by a dump truck driven by Francisco Abarca, 57, of Succasunna, N.J. The Focus was sideways across the road when Abarca hit it with his Volvo Tri-Axle dump truck. http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20100331/UPDATES01/100331019/1005/NEWS01/Cops++Roxbury+man+was+driving+dump+truck+in+crash+that+killed+two+NY+teens

Abarca was not injured in the accident.

Police were trying to determine if a heavy rain and slippery road led to the crash.

Needless to say, the tragic death shook up the town, as relatives of the deceased and fellows students flocked to the crash scene. Police had to move the crowd back so they could reconstruct the accident before removing the body of the teens.

http://www.lohud.com/article/20100330/NEWS03/3300375/-1/newsfront/2-believed-killed-in-car-truck-collision-on-Route-202-in-Ramapo

So there will be two youths have had their final season of high school baseball, and their lives, snatched away from them. Is the culprit the tires on their vehicle? If the tires in front have more tread on them than the tires in back, this can cause the vehicle to hydroplane and lose control in heavy rain. For more, see http://car-accident-rain.com It is so critical that the tires are kept on this vehicle until they can be examined by an expert.

Texas Couple Sues Goodyear After Motorcycle Crash

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Posted on 31st March 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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A Texas couple is suing Goodyear Dunlop because they allege that a D250 Radial motorcycle tire was defective, making them crash and suffer severe injuries. http://www.prweb.com/releases/motorcycle_accident/motorcycle_tires/prweb3777974.htm

Martin Stricker of Brownwood, Texas, was riding his Honda GL 1800 Gold Wing with his wife Loretta on the back on US 67 south of Abilene, Texas, when the motorcycle’s rear tire “suddenly and without warning deflated,” according to the lawsuit.

During the Aug. 8, 2008 accident the motorcycle slid sideways, flipped over and ejected Stricker and his wife.

The personal injury lawsuit also names as defendants Honda Motor Co. and Woods Fun Center of Austin, Texas, which sold Stricker the bike and the tire. The suit alleges that Woods replaced the used tires on the motorcycle with tires they claimed were new, when in fact the rear tire was six years old. There was a defective bead in the tire, which caused it to deflate, the suit claims.

For more on lawsuits related to improper installation of tires, go to http://car-accident-rain.com

Cooper Tire Must Pay Out $32.8 Million in Fatal Minivan Rollover Accident

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Posted on 24th March 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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A jury has awarded $32.8 million in damages against Cooper Tire & Robber Co. in a case involving a fatal minivan rollover in Iowa.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aMqqH8qA8F2Y# A jury in Des Moines, Iowa, found that Cooper was liable for the accident, which involved a Chrysler minivan that had Cooper tires on it. The panel determined that the tire that was on the minivan wasn’t “state of the art” when it was designed and made. Lawyers for the plaintiffs maintained that the tire was defective.

Cooper Tire plans to appeal the large jury verdict. The tire maker defended its tires as safe, blaming its failure on its “long-term underinflated operation.”

The Grand Voyager minivan, owned by plaintiff Achol Deng Meiwan, had gotten a nail in it, for some time. The nail was still in the tire after the accident.

The van was filled with co-workers from the Swift & Co. meatpacking plant in Marshalltown, Iowa.

The jury awarded Ivan Toe, a 39-year-old woman who became a paraplegic from the accident, $28.4 million. Her children are to receive $65,000.

The estate of a woman who lost her life in the accident, Assata Karlar, 28, will get $649,000. Her husband will receive $420,000, with their five children awarded more than $1 million.

Cooper Tire must also pay punitive damages of $1.5 million.

Alaska Winter Tire Bills Faces Tough Road

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Posted on 6th March 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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A bill that would have required Alaska residents to use winter snow tires has received a stormy reception in the Far North. http://www.tirebusiness.com/subscriber/headlines2.phtml?cat=1204552929&headline=Alaska+legislator+seeks+support+for+bill+mandating+winter+tire+use&id=1267799240#

The bill, sponsored by Rep. John Harris, R-Valdez, had one hearing before the Transportation Committee of the Alaska House of Representatives Feb. 19.

But Valdez has postponed a second hearing that had been set for Feb. 25 on the bill, which has drawn phones calls, FAXs and letters to the editor from its opponents. Harris is trying to rally support for the legislation.

The bill mandates that Alaska drivers either have studded tires or those with a mountain-snowflake symbol between Dec. 15 and March 15, starting Dec. 15, 2011.

During the first hearing, one presentation said that about 90 percent of Alaska residents use all-weather or summer tires in the winter, even though studded tires cause a 10 percent decrease in winter road accidents. In 2007 some 6,600 auto accidents, or 63 percent of the accidents in Alaska that year, took place in the winter.

Spectator Killed By Flying Tire From NHRA Crash In Arizona

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Posted on 22nd February 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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A woman spectator was killed this weekend when a tire flew off a drag racing car and hit her before the vehicle crashed at the National Hot Rod Association Arizona Nationals in Chan
dler, Ariz., according to USA Today.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nhra/2010-02-21-crewmember-injury-phoenix_N.htm

The unidentified woman was taken from Firebird International Raceway by helicopter to Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix and died there several hours later.

The accident during the first round of the Arizona Nationals is reportedly the first non-participant death at an NHRA event since the mid-1970s, according to the Arizona Republic.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/02/21/20100221nhra-firebird-raceway-fan-injured.html

The accident took place Sunday when Top Fuel dragster Antron Brown lost control, crossed into the lane of his rival Troy Buff and then hit a wall. The car flipped onto its right side, caught fire and then its left rear tire flew off and went into a crowd of bystanders.

Brown was examined at Chandler Regional Medical Center and released.

In a statement, the NHRA said it was investigating the crash.

“The entire NHRA community is deeply saddened by today’s incident and sends its thoughts and prayers to the woman’s family and friends,” the organization said.

Rain postponed the rest of the race Sunday. It was set to resume Monday.

Worn, Mismatched Tires Likely Lead to SUV’s Rollover

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Posted on 18th February 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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We’ve made a crusade of warning the public of the care that must be taken with their tire placement, and here’s another incident that bears us out.

Authorities in Port Saint Lucie, Fla., were blaming mismatched tires on an SUV with causing the vehicle to roll over, ejecting several children. Luckily, the victims didn’t sustain any critical injuries. See http://www.cbs12.com/news/lucie-4724233-port-turnpike.html

In the accident, a man was driving his 1997 Ford Explorer with five kids, all younger than 13, on the Turnpike.

His right rear passenger tire blew, he lost control of the SUV and it rolled over several times.

Three of the children were thrown out of the vehicle. They were hospitalized, but did not sustain any serious injury.

Authorities said that the tire that failed was a different brand than those on the SUV’s other three wheels. And the front left tire was badly worn and needed to be changed.

The main cause of accidents on the Turnpike are worn-out and under-inflated tires, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. To that list we would add having uneven tread between front and back tires, with the better tires on the front. See http://car-accident-rain.com for more information.

Alaska Mulls Making Snow Tires Mandatory

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Posted on 17th February 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Better tires? Sounds like a great idea, right. Well not if they put the new tires on only the front. See http://car-accident-rain.com All tire manufacturers agree that it is extremely dangerous to have newer tires on the front of a vehicle than on the back.

Alaska lawmakers are weighing whether to require state residents to install winter tires on their vehicles from mid-December to mid-March.
http://newsminer.com/view/full_story/6376818/article-Alaska-Legislature-considers-making-snow-tires-mandatory?instance=home_news_window_left_top_2

The bill also permits the use of studded tires, as well as name-brand tires that the Alaska Department of Public Safety deems acceptable.

The Alaska Legislature’s transportation committee had a hearing on the tire bill Tuesday, when a proposal to bar the use of cell phones by drivers was also discussed.

At the hearing tire company officials said that most winter accidents and deaths in the far northern United States and Europe are caused by problems with turning. We wonder why they didn’t raise the issue they all agree about with respect to assuring that if only two tires are replaced, they must go on the back. This rule would apply even more so for snow tires. Remember, the natural inclination would be to put the snow tires on the front of a front wheel drive car.

Toronto Maple Leaf GM’s Son Killed in Indiana Crash

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Posted on 8th February 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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The son of Brian Burke, general manager of the NHL Toronto Maple Leafs, and another youth were both killed in a head-on crash with a truck in central Indiana Friday. http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Leafs+Burke+killed+accident/2529702/story.html

Brendan Burke, 21, of Canton, Mass., and Mark Reedy died when the car Burke was driving skidded on ice and hit a truck on Highway 35 near Economy, Ind. The accident took place about 70 miles northeast of Indianapolis. Reedy was an 18-year-old Michigan State University freshman studying engineering.

A heavy snowfall made roads slippery and Burke’s 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee hit a 1997 Ford truck head-on.

Burke attended Miami University in Ohio and had a job with the school’s hockey team.

His death brings into question whether his father will go through with plans to attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver Feb. 12.

In a press release, the Maple Leafs said, “We are saddened to report that Brendan Burke, the youngest son of Toronto president and general manager Brian Burke, succumbed to injuries he suffered in an auto accident earlier today in Indiana. The family asks for privacy at this very difficult time.”

As we have said repeatedly on this blog, fully understanding what happened in this accident requires an inspection and investigation of the relative tread on the tires on Burke’s vehicle. If the tires on the front were newer than those on the back, this might be what caused the skid. For more information on potential liability of non-drivers in skidding accidents, see http://car-accident-rain.com

Canadian Tire Retailer Institutes ‘Four or Nothing’ Policy On Snow Tire Sales

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Posted on 1st February 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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After facing a rash of lawsuits, the company Canadian Tire is refusing to sell customers just two snow tires, the Halifax Chronicle-Herald reported. http://www.tirereview.com/Article/70473/canadian_tire_has_strict_four_or_nothing_winter_tire_policy.aspx

The tire retailer’s outlets in Halifax, Canada, has adopted a “four or nothing” policy in terms of supplying snow tires.

Canadian Tire has tried to educate consumers on the importance of having four snow tires on your vehicle, not just two, the story said. One service manager was quoted as saying that Canadian Tire had a number of lawsuits pending against it from drivers who had accidents after buying and driving around with only two winter tires.

In the litigation, the tire retailer was blamed for permitting customers to buy only two snow tires, not four.

“It’s an established fact that four snow tires are required for maximum safety for winter driving,” the service manager, Frank Glazer, told the Chronicle-Herald.

The issue is not just new tires all around, but also that under no circumstances are the tires on front, to have more traction than those on the back. If it were a front wheel drive car and you put the snow tires on the front, this would be a recipe for disaster. See our webpage that explains this in detail: http://car-accident-rain.com

Wisconsin Man Killed in Freak Tire Accident

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Posted on 31st January 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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A Northwest Wisconsin man met an untimely end in a freak accident where he was hit by a flying tire.

Shane Erickson of Somerset, Wis., was driving right over the state’s border in Minnesota when his vehicle was hit by a flying tire from a pickup truck, according to an online story by the radio station WTAQ, http://new.wtaq.com/news/articles/2010/jan/25/somerset-man-killed-mn-freak-accident/

The fatal accident took place last Saturday on Highway 95 in Oak Park, Minn.

Erickson was killed even though he was wearing a seat belt and despite the fact that his air bag opened when his vehicle was hit.

Another Wisconsin resident, a man from New Richmond, was the driver of the pickup truck.
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