Jury begins Ford trial deliberations

Published 12:13 pm Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Both sides gave closing arguments in the Ford Motor Company suit Tuesday, but after three hours of deliberation, the jury still had not reached a verdict.

The suit revolves around the death of Natchez resident Raymond Yancy in a 2002 accident in which his 1988 Ford Bronco caught fire. The plaintiff, Yancy’s family, alleges the fire killed him. They alleged neglect in design and production on the part of the company caused his death.

The biggest issue was the plastic fuel lines, which the plaintiff’s attorney said should have been made of metal. The fuel lines allegedly spilled, leading to the fire, they argued.

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Attorney Deborah McDonald asked the jury that, if they found in favor of the plaintiff, they award them a total of $4,134,430.

The potential damages including the money he would have made in the past five years, pain and suffering, funeral expenses, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of society and companionship and mental anguish.

“Mr. Yancy could have and did survive the wreck,” McDonald said. “What killed him was the fire. We’re asking for a lot of money because a life has been lost.”

Joe Reid, attorney for Ford Motor Company, said he thought the evidence showed something entirely different. He said it showed the truck did not cause the wreck or death. In fact, he said, the fuel lines were state-of-the-art and had an extra safety shut-off feature.

Also, Reid said, the evidence showed the car was reasonably and safely designed and that the fire was started by transmission fluid, not gasoline.

Furthermore, he alluded to the possibility that Yancy might have been drunk at the time of the crash.

“This case is not about a poorly designed truck,” Reid said. “It’s about a bad wreck that resulted from bad driving and bad decisions.”

The jury is scheduled to reconvene this morning.