WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- A family has settled its lawsuit
against Ford Motor Co. stemming from a rear-end collision where a
limousine erupted into flames, killing the wife of a former NASCAR
crew chief and her two sisters, lawyers for both sides said
Wednesday.
Neither side would disclose terms ending a wrongful-death
lawsuit over the safety of the fuel-tank system in Lincoln Town Car
limousines, which are manufactured by Ford.
The three women were stopped in traffic on Interstate 40 in
Greensboro on Sept. 10, 2003, after attending a concert. A pickup
truck driven by Jeffrey Niles McFayden rammed into the back of
their limousine, which exploded almost immediately and trapped them
inside.
Tara Howell Parker, 29, her stepsister Mysti Howell Poplin, 24,
and her half sister Megan Elizabeth Howell, 16, died of smoke
inhalation and burns suffered in the fire. Parker was the wife of
NASCAR driver Dale Jarrett's former crew chief.
Brenda and Ricky Howell, the women's parents, alleged in their
lawsuit that the Lincoln Town Car was defective because the fuel
tank was behind the rear axle, which increased the risk of fire in
rear-end collisions. They said Ford could have fixed the problem by
distributing a safety shield to protect the fuel tank.
McFayden was convicted in May of three counts of involuntary
manslaughter.
Ford spokeswoman Kathleen Vokes blamed the deaths on the driver,
who collided with the limo at 60 mph.
"Unfortunately, there is no vehicle on the road that can
adequately protect people in such collisions," Vokes said. "We do
not believe any other comparable vehicles' fuel tanks could have
survived the severity of this impact."