A plaintiffs' expert testified Wednesday that he thinks there was a defect in the van involved in a fatal 2003 accident. Ford Motor Co. is being sued by several plaintiffs who were passengers in the van when it crashed on Interstate 70 in Kansas. The van was en route to a ski trip sponsored by the First Baptist Church in Gentry. The group was traveling to Colorado on March 15, 2003, when the van hit a guardrail and swerved to the left before rolling over. Several passengers, including James Herrington of Fayetteville, were injured.

 

On Wednesday, jurors watched video of a test performed by Rob Hooker for Renfro's analysis in which a similar van began to roll over. An outrigger on the van was used to protect the driver from the car rolling and injuring him. Renfro said the van began to roll on dry, flat pavement due to steering inputs. He testified that once the vehicle came off the guardrail before the rollover, the defect in the van played "a very important role."

 

He testified that Ford was obligated to do additional testing to note the defect and try to correct it, even after it was introduced on the market. If vehicles are unsafe, he testified, there are easy fixes for the problem. He said putting dual wheels on the rear would have helped with the van's stability in part of a test to simulate the effect of a road edge maneuver - such as steering after hitting a guardrail.