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Suit Filed in Illinois Van Rollover

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July 31, 2003
DaimlerChrysler is among the defendants in a lawsuit following the deaths of two children in a rollover accident involving an 15-passenger Dodge van traveling from Chicago to prisons in downstate Illinois.

The accident is similar to others involving the large passenger vans that are widely used by schools, churches and other organizations. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has proposed new rules to make the vans safer. It's estimated that at least 400 people have died in rollover accidents involving the vans in the last decade.

The Illinois crash occurred on Interstate 57 south of Kankakee when a van operated by Willis Bus Service flipped over, rolled several times and lost its roof. Desmond Brown, 8 months, and Zeus Limonez, 3, were killed and 16 other passengers were hurt.

The van was carrying inmates' families traveling to visit the Big Muddy Correctional Center and the Centralia Correctional Center.

"The van is defective and it is unreasonably dangerous and needs to be pulled off the road," said a lawyer for the victims. DaimlerChrysler said its is satisfied the van is safe but said it is conducting its own investigation of the crash.

Illinois State Police said driver fatigue and excessive speed were factors in the crash. They also said the van was packed beyond its 15-passenger capacity and the driver did not have a commercial license.

The lawsuit claims that van's defects include a tendency to oversteer, making it difficult to regain control if the van runs off the road, and an overhang on the roof that makes the back of the vehicle too heavy and prone to swerve.

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