Fatal accident cause revealed to Wisconsin family after 7 years

by | May 9, 2014 | Wrongful Death |

By now, almost everyone has heard of the massive recall General Motors has issued for a large number of vehicles. The recall pertains to ignition switches in certain vehicles that might fail and lead to an accident. The severity of the failure is evident when you hear the story of the Wisconsin families who lost loved ones in an accident likely caused by a faulty ignition switch seven years ago.

The two teens who died were in a Chevrolet Cobalt when the fatal accident occurred in 2006. The 18-year-old girl and 15-year-old girl were involved in an accident in which the car flew through the air into a tree. It is estimated that the car hit the tree while going 38 miles per hour. Neither girl was wearing a seat belt. One of the girls died the day of the accident and the other died 11 days later.

It is only now, seven years later, that the families are finally learning the cause of the crash. Both families are part of a lawsuit against GM, but there is a chance that they will never see a settlement because of the GM bankruptcy.

The infuriating part of this story is that the death of these girls might have been prevented. One lawmaker estimates that it would have cost less than $1 for GM to make a change that would have corrected the problem. It is alleged that GM knew of the problem for a decade, but didn’t issue the recall until recently.

Losing a loved one in a tragic accident is painful, but when you find out that the accident might have been prevented, the pain increases. Corporate greed is what some people are saying led to the death of these two teen girls. Hopefully, the families of the deceased will finally get closure.

Source: Fox6Now.com, “Seven years after Natasha Weigel’s death, Wisconsin family gets answers” Jeremy Ross, Apr. 29, 2014

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