Jury Says Chrysler Must Pay $11.2 Million to Survivors of Exploding Gas Tank

10/21/96

The Associated Press reported that a jury has ruled that Chrysler Corporation must pay $11.2 million in damages for a car wreck in which a gas tank exploded and killed two women. Chrysler reportedly said the ruling was "outrageous."

In 1993 Angela Archuleta, 20, and Gail Martinez, 21, died when the driver of the car they were in (a 1984 Chrysler Laser) swerved to avoid another car, hit a sign post and a wall, and flipped over. One of the surviving passengers testified that he tried to pull the two women out of the car, but that the gas tank exploded, making it impossible. The survivors were the driver, James Sandoval, and Ms. Archuleta's brother, Brian.

On October 12, a jury decided that Chrysler was primarily responsible for the deaths and awarded $7 million to Ms. Archuleta's parents, $3.5 million to Brian Archuleta and $700,000 to Sandoval.

Chrysler vowed to appeal the decision and noted that Sandoval admitted he had been drinking and was speeding. The company said the verdict "represents a new low in the twisted American tort system."

Chrysler says the company met required safety tests and that there are no reports of fuel fires in 6.5 million similar cars. It also said New Mexico is getting a reputation for siding with local residents in civil suits, and called the verdict in the wreck "even more outrageous" than a highly publicized decision against McDonald's that involved spilled coffee. In that case an Albuquerque jury awarded an 81-year-old woman $2.7 million in punitive damages and $160,000 in compensatory damages after she was burned while trying to pry the lid off a cup of hot coffee at a McDonald's drive-through. A judge later reduced the punitive damages to $480,000.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel