Oregon firefighter Zach Zigich was on his way to saving lives. Instead, he lost his own life when the van rolled over.
There were 11 firefighters from Oregon and Idaho in the Ford E-350 15-passenger van on June 21, 2002. They were on their way to battle the Hayman wildfire in Colorado when it rolled over. Five firefighters lost their lives, including Zach Zigach. When Zach�s parents discovered that these vans� tendency to roll over has been linked to over 700 deaths and countless injuries, they knew they had to act. Through the courts and the press, they are urging Ford and the federal government to recall these dangerous vans. Read about this case.
Warning: Ford 15-passenger vans are still being sold, read consumer warnings about these dangerous vans.
Zigich, of Twin Falls, Idaho, was 18-years-old when he and four other firefighters were killed in the rollover of a 15-passenger Ford van on June 21, 2002. The others killed were 19-year-old Retha Shirley of La Grande; 28-year-old Daniel Rama of Baker City; 20-year-old Jake Martindale of Boise; and 20-year-old Bartholomew Bailey of Baker City.
The parents of Zachary Zigich met with reporters on Thursday and urged a national recall of the Ford E-350 15-passenger van.
“The 15-passenger Ford vans are unsafe,” stated Angelina Zigich, Zachary’s mother. “The van that killed my son should have never been on the highway. What’s tragic is that thousands of these same vans are still on the road today. I don’t want one more parent to go through what my husband and I have been through. I urge Ford and the federal government to recall these dangerous vehicles now.”
The young adults killed were among 11 firefighters from Idaho and Oregon riding in the van. They were on their way to battle the Hayman wildfire in Colorado. The families of the five who were killed and three more who were injured took Ford Motor Company to court in Multnomah County Circuit Court in Portland. The parties reached an out of court settlement on April 4, just one week prior to a scheduled trial.
Angelina and Dr. Michael Zigich told reporters that they learned of the dangers of the 15-passenger Ford vans in the months following their tragedy.
• Over the past 20 years, 15-passenger vans have been linked to more than 700 deaths and many more serious injuries. More than half of the 15-passenger vans on the road today are the E350 manufactured by Ford.
• In 2001, 2002 and again in 2004, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued warnings that 15-passenger vans transporting 10 or more occupants had a rollover rate in single vehicle crashes that was nearly 3 times the rate for those same vans when lightly loaded.
• As early as 1993, NHTSA warned auto dealers and school districts that children should not be transported in 15-passenger vans due to safety concerns.
• Ford’s 15-passenger van has been the target of numerous lawsuits. A Kentucky jury ordered Ford to pay $20 million to the families of three people killed in a 1995 rollover. Since then Ford has always settled similar lawsuits out of court or before the jury has reached a verdict.
The Zigiches described their son Zachary as someone who lived life to the fullest. He excelled at football, tennis and swimming, and was an accomplished trumpet player. He graduated from Twin Falls High School in 2001 and attended Carroll College in Helena, Montana.
The day before his death, Zachary was on top of the world. He had just played a concert in the park, had just been offered a spot on the Carroll College football team and he had been accepted as a firefighter. That night he enjoyed a long telephone call with his girl friend, his junior high sweetheart, where they talked about marriage.
Ford’s first 15-passenger van was introduced in 1979. Instead of creating a new vehicle, Ford modified its existing van simply by making the body longer and installing an additional bench seat for four more passengers behind the rear axle, without lengthening the wheel base.
This resulted in over five feet of overhang behind the rear axle. The problem with this design, according to NHTSA and other automotive experts, is that it shifts the center of gravity of the van – especially when loaded up with 15-passengers, as intended – too high and too far rearward. In any kind of a sudden turn or accident avoidance maneuver, or if a tire blows out, the high and rearward center of gravity causes the van to fishtail out of control, and, far too often, to roll over.
Some 500,000 15-passenger vans remain in use today. They are used by day care centers, church organizations, colleges, sports teams, senior centers and others.
Ford announced last year that, beginning in 2006, it will equip its new 15-passenger vans with electronic stability control, a computerized system that instantly deploys individual brakes and reduces engine speed when sensors detect any unusual side-to-side movement, such as fishtailing. This the first major improvement in the vehicle’s handling and stability since its introduction in 1979.
“We believe that cases like ours have helped pressure Ford to do something to make these vehicles safer,” said Dr. Zigich. “But it doesn’t do anything about all the older vans without ESC that are still being used.”
Ford has not taken any responsibility for the problems with its extended van, and asserts that if the van is not overloaded and is properly driven, it is perfectly safe. To date, the federal government has been reluctant to recall 15-passenger vans. However, Congress recently passed a bill to require NHTSA to establish and enforce federal motor vehicle safety standards for resistance to rollover for all vehicles, beginning in 2009. Until now, there have been no federal standards for rollover resistance.
The likelihood of a recall or other regulatory action on the hundreds of thousands of 15-passenger vans on the nation’s highways appears slim. The Zigiches urge parents to find out what kind of vehicle their children will be riding in at camps, with sports teams or in church groups – and to stop the children from riding in 15-passenger Ford vans. They suggest that owners of vans remove the rear seats and add dual rear wheels to increase a van’s stability. Dual rear wheels are a low-tech, low-cost alternative design that Ford could have utilized on these vans at any time since they first came out in 1979.
The Zigiches attorney, Bill Gaylord, explained that the parents could not speak out in public against Ford while the case was still heading for trial.
“Our son’s life will mean more,” said Angelina Zigich, “if someone hearing our story prevents their child from getting into a 15-passenger van. If someone listening to us decides to park their van or remove all the passenger seats that would be wonderful.”
Zigich, of Twin Falls, Idaho, was 18-years-old when he and four other firefighters were killed in the rollover of a 15-passenger Ford van on June 21, 2002. The others killed were 19-year-old Retha Shirley of La Grande; 28-year-old Daniel Rama of Baker City; 20-year-old Jake Martindale of Boise; and 20-year-old Bartholomew Bailey of Baker City.
The young adults killed were among 11 firefighters from Idaho and Oregon riding in the van. They were on their way to battle the Hayman wildfire in Colorado. The families of the five who were killed and three more who were injured took Ford Motor Company to court in Multnomah County Circuit Court in Portland. The parties reached an out of court settlement on April 4, just one week prior to a scheduled trial.
Angelina and Dr. Michael Zigich told reporters that they learned of the dangers of the 15-passenger Ford vans in the months following their tragedy.
• Over the past 20 years, 15-passenger vans have been linked to more than 700 deaths and many more serious injuries. More than half of the 15-passenger vans on the road today are the E350 manufactured by Ford.
• In 2001, 2002 and again in 2004, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued warnings that 15-passenger vans transporting 10 or more occupants had a rollover rate in single vehicle crashes that was nearly 3 times the rate for those same vans when lightly loaded.
• As early as 1993, NHTSA warned auto dealers and school districts that children should not be transported in 15-passenger vans due to safety concerns.
• Ford’s 15-passenger van has been the target of numerous lawsuits. A Kentucky jury ordered Ford to pay $20 million to the families of three people killed in a 1995 rollover. Since then Ford has always settled similar lawsuits out of court or before the jury has reached a verdict.
The Zigiches described their son Zachary as someone who lived life to the fullest. He excelled at football, tennis and swimming, and was an accomplished trumpet player. He graduated from Twin Falls High School in 2001 and attended Carroll College in Helena, Montana.
The day before his death, Zachary was on top of the world. He had just played a concert in the park, had just been offered a spot on the Carroll College football team and he had been accepted as a firefighter. That night he enjoyed a long telephone call with his girl friend, his junior high sweetheart, where they talked about marriage.
Ford’s first 15-passenger van was introduced in 1979. Instead of creating a new vehicle, Ford modified its existing van simply by making the body longer and installing an additional bench seat for four more passengers behind the rear axle, without lengthening the wheel base.
This resulted in over five feet of overhang behind the rear axle. The problem with this design, according to NHTSA and other automotive experts, is that it shifts the center of gravity of the van – especially when loaded up with 15-passengers, as intended – too high and too far rearward. In any kind of a sudden turn or accident avoidance maneuver, or if a tire blows out, the high and rearward center of gravity causes the van to fishtail out of control, and, far too often, to roll over.
