Ford Ordered to Pay $7 Million to Family of Mustang Crash Victim
A 19-year-old driver was killed in her Ford Mustang when she was trapped after a crash. Ford will appeal the $7 million judgement.
We all love to talk Ford Mustang, but this is not a story you like to hear about as there are no winners here. This is a story about a teen Mustang driver that tragically lost her life. And a jury found that Ford was to blame and awarded a $7 million judgment to the family of the victim. The West Virginia Gazette recently reported on this sad story and shared the details known at this time.
What makes this sad tale even more tragic is that the Mustang driver was doing nothing wrong. There was no speeding, or reckless driving of any kind. She was minding her own business, enjoying her 2014 Ford Mustang when her car was hit by another driver that caused her death.
Crash
The lawsuit states that Breanna Bumgarner was the 19-year-old driver of the Mustang. On March 22, 2016, Bumgarner was driving the 2014 Ford Mustang West on U.S. Highway 33 when her vehicle was struck by a 1989 Toyota pickup driven by Anna Errickson who was driving in the opposite direction. Errickson crossed the centerline of the highway and hit the Mustang around the driver side A-pillar while travelling at 59 mph. The force of the impact ruptured the brake fluid reservoir.
The brake fluid ignited, and a fire started in the engine compartment of the Ford Mustang. Bumgarner was trapped in the vehicle by the collapsed safety cage. Despite suffering only minor injuries in the collision Bumgarner could not escape the fire and was burned alive.
Lawsuit
The mother of the victim alleged in the lawsuit that Ford failed to provide adequate safety measures to protect the driver’s compartment in the event of a fire. The lawsuit further stated “that a 2011 crash test should have indicated that the brake reservoir would be crushed and the dashboard would come back into the driver but Ford continued to manufacture the vehicle in the same way for three more years.” One of Ford’s lawyers, James Feeney, refuted any wrongdoing by the manufacturer. “The plaintiff’s case is built entirely up on the performance of a Ford Mustang in what is called the small overlap rigid barrier test,” Feeney said, according to the West Virginia Gazette. “That test is not this accident.” However, the jury didn’t see it that way.
The Ruling
The jury ruled that Ford was 99 percent at fault for the death of Bumgarner and Errickson was 1 percent at fault. However, the jury also ruled that Ford was not negligent in designing the Mustang because it did not prevent the driver from being trapped in the collision.
The jury awarded $2 million to Bumgarner’s family for her “conscious pain and suffering” at the time of the incident and another $5 million to Angel Tyler, the victim’s mother. Ford intends to appeal the decision and will try to prove they should not be forced to pay the $7 million. The sad reality is no matter the result of the lawsuit there are no winners.
Photos: Ford
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