Ford sued in I-385 fatality
Jury selected to hear case of Explorer that flipped in 1999
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Published: Tuesday, July 18, 2006 - 6:00 am
By Julie Howle
STAFF WRITER
jhowle@greenvillenews.com
A seven-man, five-woman jury was selected Monday to hear the trial of a lawsuit against Ford Motor Co. and three other defendants concerning a single-vehicle wreck on Interstate 385 that left a 46-year-old Clinton woman dead and others injured. Opening arguments are expected today.
Two product liability lawsuits were filed in state court in Greenville in 2002, three years after the accident that involved a 1995 Ford Explorer XLT.
Highway Patrol officials have said that on Dec. 11, 1999, the Explorer drifted into the grass median on I-385 in Laurens County, and when the driver turned back onto the roadway, the vehicle skidded sideways and flipped three or four times.
The lawsuits against Ford Motor Co., TRW Inc., TRW Vehicle Safety Systems Inc., and D&D Motors Inc. target the vehicle's occupant restraint system, electronic cruise control and vehicle body and chassis.
They allege that the components are "inadequately designed and constructed and fail to provide the degree of occupant restraint, protection and safety a reasonable consumer would expect in foreseeable accidents."
Willie E. Carter filed a lawsuit representing the estate of Patricia Ann S. Carter, who died in the wreck. The suit said she was wearing a safety belt properly and that she was ejected from the vehicle.
The other plaintiffs include Sonya and Stacy Watson and their parents, Curtis and Shirley Watson, as well as Thelma Watson. Sonya was 17 at the time of the crash, and Stacy was 14, according to the lawsuit.
Circuit Judge Edward Miller told jurors he expects this to be a long trial with much expert testimony.
