Ford sued over fiery police car crash

FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- The family of a Texas policeman killed in a fiery accident says Ford should have realized the increased risk of a police car being involved in such crashes.

Lawyers for Karen Freeto and her children sued Ford this week on the grounds the Crown Victoria squad car her husband, Dwayne, was driving two years ago had a faulty design that led to the deadly explosion of the fuel tank.

Freeto, an officer with the Fort Worth Police Department, was killed when a vehicle driven by drunken driver hit him while he was parked on the shoulder of Interstate 35W.

"Ford executives know that they are 140 percent more likely to be involved in this kind of accident. ... But they don't change any of the design or make the fuel system more robust knowing that they have this higher risk," lawyer Mark Haney told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The newspaper said Tuesday that the gas tank on Freeto's Ford cruiser had been retrofitted with a shield; however Haney maintains that the shield could only withstand a 75-mile per hour crash, which should be considered a common freeway speed.