June 15, 2005
A Kansas City jury has found the Ford Motor Co. is not liable in the May 2003 death of a Missouri state trooper who died when his Crown Victoria was struck from behind and caught fire.
Jurors said the guilty party was the driver of the pickup truck that slammed into the patrol car and the driver's employer.
The jury awarded $8.5 million in damages to Trooper Michael Newton's family and to a passenger in the patrol car who was severely burned.
Attorneys for Newton's family and the passenger had argued that the design of the Crown Victoria, with the fuel tank located between the rear bumper and the rear axle, partly contributed to the resulting explosion.
Police agencies across the country have made similar claims following explosions involving the popular model of patrol car but have yet to find success in the courtroom.
A jury in Belleview, Ill. last fall ruled against the plaintiffs in the first class-action lawsuit against Ford.
Ford has repeatedly maintained that the Crown Victoria is safe.
Investigators with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said last year that the gas tank of Newton's patrol car did not appear compromised in the collision. They said the fire came after fuel leaked from the severed fuel supply tube, which could come loose in rear-end crashes involving any vehicle.
