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Automaker sued in fatal crash
By CHASE SQUIRES DADE CITY -- The family of a Zephyrhills winter resident killed in a 1999 collision is suing the maker of the van, DaimlerChrysler Corp., claiming the driver's seat failed in the crash. According to Zephyrhills police, Robert Herman Crawford, 68, was driving his 1993 Dodge minivan south on U.S. 301 in Zephyrhills near the Daughtery Road intersection about 6:30 p.m. Nov. 15, 1999, when his van was hit from behind. The driver of the 1988 GMC pickup truck that hit him, Anthony R. Williams, 25, of Zephyrhills, ran from the scene and was arrested in January 2000, police reported. He pleaded no contest to criminal charges later. According to investigators at the scene, Crawford's seat apparently collapsed in the crash, and Crawford went backward. He suffered head injuries and died a month later in a Zephyrhills nursing home. Crawford's insurance company sued Williams last year and settled for $15,000, to be paid at $50 a month. But in a lawsuit filed last week in circuit court against DaimlerChrysler on behalf of Crawford's family, Miami attorney Robert Brown III is demanding a jury trial, claiming wrongful death, negligence and willful and wanton misconduct by the automaker. "DaimlerChrysler knew or should have known of the dangerous propensity of its seat, seat back and occupational restraint components to fail catastrophically," the lawsuit alleges. Court records show the automaker has not yet been served a copy of the complaint. Williams is in prison. He pleaded no contest in August 2000 to felony charges of leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death and caused injuries. According to state records, he is due to be released from prison next month. When he was sentenced, prosecutor Phil Van Allen told Circuit Judge Helen Hansel that Williams was driving with a suspended license. Police said Williams told them he fled because he was wanted. Van Allen said he had a list of prior convictions for burglary, theft, running from police, and three prior convictions for driving with a suspended license.
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