Trial to Open in Suit Over Fatal SUV Crash

Ford Motor Co. is slated to go to trial Monday to defend the design of its Explorer sport-utility vehicle in a lawsuit that seeks unspecified damages against the No. 2 auto maker for a fatal vehicle rollover.

Margarita Gonzalez, 58, was killed in July 2000 when a 1998 Explorer driven by her son Alfredo flipped on Interstate 10 near Kerrville, Texas, after the tread separated from the right-rear Firestone tire. Alfredo Gonzalez, who suffered head injuries, is walking and talking, said a lawyer for Bridgestone/Firestone Inc., which settled with the family last week.

It’s the third time Ford will go to court to defend its popular sport-utility vehicle’s stability, which has come under scrutiny after a federal safety agency linked Firestone tires installed on Explorers as original equipment to 203 deaths and more than 700 injuries. Plaintiffs’ lawyers will be watching to see whether Ford, which won the previous two cases, blames Firestone for the accident.

Firestone recalled 6.5 million tires, mostly Wilderness AT, ATX and ATX II, in August 2000, a month after the accident that killed Margarita Gonzalez.