Austintown cop multimillion suit against Ford Motor Co. to proceed next week

YOUNGSTOWN — Lawyers sparred over Austintown Patrolman Ross J. Linert’s multimillion-dollar lawsuit alleging the Ford Motor Co. made a defective cruiser that caused him to be badly burned in a fiery rear-end crash.

Visiting Judge Thomas P. Curran, who presided over today’s final pretrial hearing, will preside over the civil-jury trial in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, which will begin next Tuesday and is expected to last two to three weeks.

Linert, and his wife, Brenda, allege in their lawsuit that the 2005 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor cruiser, which Linert occupied at the time of the crash, had a fuel tank that was improperly located behind its rear axle, without adequate shields or guards and without a fire-suppression system.

Also named by the Linerts as a defendant is Adrien N. Foutz, 25, of Girard, who the suit says negligently rear-ended the cruiser that Linert was driving Nov. 11, 2007, on Meridian Road at Interstate 680.

For the complete story, read Wednesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com