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Oct 21, 2008 5:24 pm US/Central
Family Sues Ford After FWPD Officer's Death
Officer Dwayne Freeto Was Killed In 2006 When His Squad Car Exploded
FORT WORTH (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
A civil lawsuit has been filed in connection with a crash that killed a Fort Worth police officer.
The family of Dwayne Freeto is suing the Ford Motor Company, charging the auto manufacturer with gross negligence in its design of the Crown Victoria's gas tank.
"I understand the notion of profit," said Dwayne's father, Carl Freeto. "We live in a competitive society that's based on free enterprise and I'm all for it. But you can't simply kill people to make money."Officer Freeto died in December 2006 when his police squad car exploded in flames after being rear-ended by another vehicle driven by a drunk driver. Freeto had stopped along the side of I-35 in Fort Worth to help a stranded motorist.
After the fiery collision, witnesses tried to rescue Freeto, but were unable to get close to him because of the flames.
The 34-year-old had only been a member of the police force for nine months before the fatal crash.
According to attorneys for the family, Ford has been aware of flawed gas tank design in the Crown Victoria for years, but has chosen to ignore the dangers.
Indeed, several studies have shown that the location of the gas tank in the Crown Victoria makes it easy to puncture in rear-end collisions.
This lawsuit is just one of many across the nation claiming that the design of the Crown Victoria has led to the injury or death of both police employees and civilians. According to the Center for Auto Safety, since 1992, more than 100 people have been killed, including over 30 police officers, after rear-end collisions involving a Crown Victoria.
Despite these numbers and studies, Ford has said that the design of the Crown Victoria is safe.
"Our law enforcement officers deserve safe vehicles," said attorney Mark Haney, legal counsel for Freeto's widow, two daughters and parents. "It is our hope to get justice for the Freeto family, and to convince Ford to finally take necessary steps to protect police officers and the public from what we believe is a deathtrap in rear-end collisions."
Earlier this year, the driver who struck Officer Freeto's squad car, Samuel Lee Hilburn, was found guilty of intoxication manslaughter. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
After the incident, a Texas law was passed allowing maximum sentences of life in prison for drunk drivers convicted of killing police officers, firefighters or any other emergency personnel. The law was named after Officer Freeto and Darren Medlin, a Grapevine police officer who was killed by a drunk driver in 2004.
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