Suit Settles Over Fatal Accident

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. and the three men involved in a 2000 accident, in which one of them died, have settled a lawsuit arising out of the incident. A jury previously found that the accident was caused by a faulty tire on the Chevy Camaro. The State Court of Appeals agreed last April and upheld a $2.1 million verdict against Goodyear and Big 10 Tire Co.

Travis Kirby, a 20 year old was driving the vehicle with two teenage friends on a Mississippi road when his vehicle “left the road, rolled, clipped a tree, continued to roll, hitting another tree, and then came to rest on its side.” Mr. Kirby was killed and his two friends were injured. It was said in the lawsuit that there was a faulty back tire on the right side of the vehicle.

Mr. Kirby bought the Camaro used from a car dealership. The tires had been replaced by the previous owner and were bought at a “Big 10 store.” Goodyear and Big 10 blamed the accident on excessive speed, the fact that Mr. Kirby had been drinking, and a puncture cause by hitting something in the road, this incidentally is a standard defense by the manufactures.

The jury didn’t but any of the story Goodyear and Big 10 was putting forth, and returned a verdict for the Plaintiffs.