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Chrysler Ordered to Pay $20 Million

DETROIT Reuters reported that a New Jersey jury has ordered DaimlerChrysler AG to pay $20 million to the family of a woman who was killed after being hit by a wheel that flew off another vehicle, DaimlerChrysler said Monday.

Annette Boryszewski, 38, died in the August 1998 accident on a New Jersey highway when the left front wheel of a Jeep Wrangler fell off, crossed the median and struck the roof and windshield of the Plymouth Voyager minivan she was driving. The wheel killed her on impact.

Her three children, who were in the minivan, were not injured.

The family claimed the minivan was partially at fault, and the jury ruled for the family on Nov. 9.

DaimlerChrysler said Monday it would appeal the verdict. The automaker said the Wrangler's tires had been rotated at a Mobil gas station a week earlier, and police found that the other front tire had not been tightened properly.

Boryszweski's family settled with the driver of the Wrangler, the service station owner and Exxon Mobil Corp. , leaving DaimlerChrysler as the only defendant.

A DaimlerChrysler lawyer said in a statement that the company was filing for a new trial, and also said the case did not reveal any defects in the roof of its minivans.