fiat chrysler Fires, deaths continue after recall of Jeeps

Associated Press

DETROIT

As Kayla White slowed her SUV behind two other cars to exit a suburban Detroit freeway on Veterans Day, it was rammed from behind by a Cadillac STS. Her red 2003 Jeep Liberty bounced off a Nissan in front of it, rolled onto its side and exploded in flames.

Other drivers ran to help but were forced back by the heat. Firefighters arrived in just three minutes but were too late. White, a 23-year-old restaurant hostess who was eight months pregnant, died of burns and smoke inhalation.

White is one of more than 70 people killed in fires involving older Jeeps with plastic fuel tanks mounted behind the rear axle.

Fiat Chrysler, which makes Jeeps, recalled 1.56 million of them in June 2013 under pressure from U.S. safety regulators. But only 12 percent of the SUVs have been repaired in the 18 months since the recall, a much slower pace than usual. And White’s Jeep was not among those fixed.

Last week, prosecutors charged the Cadillac driver with committing a moving violation that caused a death. But safety advocates and the lawyer for White’s family say the blame belongs as much, if not more, on Chrysler and an auto-industry safety system that moves too slowly to prevent tragedy.

The rear-mounted tanks have little structure to protect them if struck from behind, making them susceptible to punctures and fires. Moving the gas tank in front of the axle would be expensive and difficult. So Chrysler’s remedy involved installing trailer hitches on the rear of the Jeeps as an extra layer of protection.

Government testing showed the hitches protected the tanks in crashes up to 40 mph when stationary Jeeps were hit from behind. But at higher speeds, they wouldn’t help.

White tried to get the repair done a few weeks before her death but was told by a Jeep dealer that parts weren’t available, according to Gerald Thurswell, her family’s lawyer. He wouldn’t identify the dealership, and his contention could not be independently verified by The Associated Press.