25-Year-Old Loses Life In I-95 Explorer Rollover
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It seems like we are reporting on these Ford Explorer rollover deaths on a weekly basis. Now there has been another.
A 25-year-old Orange Park woman lost her life on I-95 Saturday.
The Florida Highway Patrol reports that Kathleen Lugo was heading south on Interstate 95 in Flagler County when she lost control of her 1999 Ford Explorer SUV and crashed Saturday afternoon around 3:15 p.m. Lugo reportedly tried to pass slow traffic and when she moved to the shoulder of the road she lost control and rolled several times. Not wearing her seat belt, Lugo was ejected from the Explorer and taken to Halifax Hospital where she was pronounced dead. No one else ws injured.
Our condolences go out to the family of this young woman who has left us all too soon.
In 2002, Ford installed a fully independent rear suspension in the Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer leading to more stability to the Explorer which has a high center of gravity and a tendancy to roll.
In 1999, Explorers involved in rollover had non-independent rear suspensions and many of the tires were found to be defective. And in May 2000, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) contacted Ford and Firestone about the incidence of tire failures and separating tread in Explorers, Mountaineers and the Mazda Navajos with Firestone tires.
An accident investigator will need to be involved in this case if there could be a cause of action concerning a faulty tire as well as any defects in the Explorer or in dropoff in the pavement along the side of the interstate which may have caused Lugo to lose control of the vehicle as there are still many unanswered questions here.
The one thing that is not unanswered is that seat belt use saves lives. It is now the law in Florida and young drivers have the worst record in using seat belts.
Fortunately in 2009, the second generation of Ford Explorers built from 1995 to 2005, had five among the seven top spots traded in the “Cash for Clunkers” program, with the 1998 model at the top of the list.
That’s little consolation to the family of Kathleen Lugo, but it may mean that one less person loses their lives in these notoriously unstable vehicles. #