Family Sues Ford for Negligence in Fatal Crash
By Alison Gonzalez
Published on March 12, 2008
On July 1, 2000, 60-year-old Steven Motelson lost control of his Ford Explorer while returning from a Boy Scout camping trip. The SUV flipped over more than three times, killing him and his grandson, Brian Motelson, and injuring three others in the vehicle – Steven’s son Gary, then 36; Gary’s son, Evan, then 5; and family friend, Mitchell Slepian, 29. Brian, Evan, and Slepian were all ejected from the vehicle.
The accident could have been prevented if the roof, seat belts, and cruise control of the 1998 Explorer Steven was driving weren’t so poorly designed in an attempt to save the manufacturer money, said Gary’s lawyer, J. Edward Bell III, during opening arguments of the product liability case.
Moreover, these defects could have been easily fixed with small additions or enhancements that would have cost Ford no more than a few dollars, Bell added.
Ford Motor Company lawyer Lee Mickus disagreed, saying that the SUV passed all federal safety and crashworthiness standards, and that the tragic results of the accident were unavoidable due to the severity of the vehicle's impact.
He added that state police could not find any problems with the brakes or steering mechanism of the SUV during the initial accident investigation.
The trial is expected to last several weeks.
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