May Have Been Recall On Truck Involved in Accident on July 13, 2007, That Resulted in the Deaths of Five and Injury of Others
Posted by
Amy RothschildJuly 31, 2007 2:07 PMThe truck that was involved in the horrific crash on I-526 on July 13, 2007, in Charleston, South Carolina resulting in the deaths of five individuals, is the subject of a recall expected to begin as soon as July 27th. The rig involved in the accident was a 2007 Freightliner Columbia series model that was put into service in December 2006. It had about 48,000 miles on it when it was last serviced in June 2007.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the rig may have a rear-axle housing defect that could cause injury or death. Apparantly, the steel that houses the axle is not as thick as it should be. The defect in the axle could cause vehicle control problems including braking issues. The NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Web site indicated that up to 97 rear-axle housings for 2007 Freightliner Columbia trucks could have the defect. Officials wouldn't comment on whether investigators were looking at the impending recall as a possible contributor in the deadly North Charleston wreck involving a 2007 Freightliner Columbia.
Freightliner reported a safety campaign to recall 97 of its 2007 Columbia models in a May 30 letter to the NHTSA. The company estimated that fewer than 8 percent of the 97 trucks potentially affected contained the defect. It told the agency that dealer notification would be completed around July 27 and that dealers would repair the problem on affected vehicles.
Dana Corp., the company that made the axle housings, sent a letter to NHTSA on March 2nd stating that as many as 5,417 axles that had been shipped to manufacturers including Freightliner LLC, Peterbilt Motors, Kenworth Truck Co., Volvo Trucks North America and Mack Trucks, may contain defective parts.
For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Defective and Dangerous Products.