Obama's Union Made Death Traps
2015-10-26 19:07:45 UTC
A Colorado woman who was trapped inside her car for six days
after losing control and rolling 300 feet (90 meters) down a
mountainside is suing General Motors, saying her 2009 Chevy
Malibu's safety features failed, court records showed on
Wednesday.
Kristin Hopkins, 45, who had both of her lower legs amputated
following the April 2014 crash, alleges in the federal lawsuit
filed on Tuesday that the automaker knew before her wreck that
the Malibu's "crash avoidance" system was defective.
According to the negligence lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court
in Denver, motorists in Colorado must traverse winding mountain
roads, often in inclement weather, and the system designed to
slow a car down when it senses a loss of traction failed Hopkins
without warning.
"Given these unavoidable driving conditions, and with guardrails
rarely present, Colorado drivers must rely on these paramount
crash avoidance features for their very survival," the lawsuit
said.
GM said in a statement that the company "is learning details of
this tragic accident."
"We will investigate this matter and work to understand what
happened and why," the statement said.
Police said she lost control of her car on a curve near Red Hill
Pass, about 65 miles (105 km) southwest of Denver, and the
vehicle rolled several times down a steep embankment before
coming to rest upside down in a grove of Aspen trees.
Bleeding and suffering from multiple injuries, the single mother
of four spent six days inside the overturned vehicle in freezing
temperatures, scrawling distress messages on an umbrella that
she deployed outside the wrecked car.
A group of passing motorists ultimately spotted the crash site
and reported to authorities that they had found a body inside
the car.
When rescuers arrived on scene, they found Hopkins alive,
suffering from multiple injuries and hypothermia.
She underwent numerous surgeries and medical procedures but
doctors could not save her legs, which were amputated below the
knees.
While she was learning to walk on prosthetic limbs at a Denver-
area rehabilitation center, the lawsuit alleges that GM sent
Hopkins a recall notice telling her the car's safety system was
defective.
"This piece of mail cruelly notified her that she should take
her Malibu in for repairs as its safety systems may not work if
she finds herself in a crash avoidance situation," the lawsuit
said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/21/us-colorado-lawsuit-
idUSKCN0SF2WO20151021http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/21
/us-colorado-lawsuit-idUSKCN0SF2WO20151021
after losing control and rolling 300 feet (90 meters) down a
mountainside is suing General Motors, saying her 2009 Chevy
Malibu's safety features failed, court records showed on
Wednesday.
Kristin Hopkins, 45, who had both of her lower legs amputated
following the April 2014 crash, alleges in the federal lawsuit
filed on Tuesday that the automaker knew before her wreck that
the Malibu's "crash avoidance" system was defective.
According to the negligence lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court
in Denver, motorists in Colorado must traverse winding mountain
roads, often in inclement weather, and the system designed to
slow a car down when it senses a loss of traction failed Hopkins
without warning.
"Given these unavoidable driving conditions, and with guardrails
rarely present, Colorado drivers must rely on these paramount
crash avoidance features for their very survival," the lawsuit
said.
GM said in a statement that the company "is learning details of
this tragic accident."
"We will investigate this matter and work to understand what
happened and why," the statement said.
Police said she lost control of her car on a curve near Red Hill
Pass, about 65 miles (105 km) southwest of Denver, and the
vehicle rolled several times down a steep embankment before
coming to rest upside down in a grove of Aspen trees.
Bleeding and suffering from multiple injuries, the single mother
of four spent six days inside the overturned vehicle in freezing
temperatures, scrawling distress messages on an umbrella that
she deployed outside the wrecked car.
A group of passing motorists ultimately spotted the crash site
and reported to authorities that they had found a body inside
the car.
When rescuers arrived on scene, they found Hopkins alive,
suffering from multiple injuries and hypothermia.
She underwent numerous surgeries and medical procedures but
doctors could not save her legs, which were amputated below the
knees.
While she was learning to walk on prosthetic limbs at a Denver-
area rehabilitation center, the lawsuit alleges that GM sent
Hopkins a recall notice telling her the car's safety system was
defective.
"This piece of mail cruelly notified her that she should take
her Malibu in for repairs as its safety systems may not work if
she finds herself in a crash avoidance situation," the lawsuit
said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/21/us-colorado-lawsuit-
idUSKCN0SF2WO20151021http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/21
/us-colorado-lawsuit-idUSKCN0SF2WO20151021