Multistrada Arah Sarana issued a defective product recall for more than 36,000 light truck tires because sidewall defects can cause them to lose air and increase the risk of a car accident. According to a CBS news report, the 16-inch tires were sold under the name of Achilles Desert Hawk and Radar Radial RLT-9. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that the Achilles tires can develop blisters on the side. The Radar tires have a defective sidewall design that could lead to tread separation. Both tires are at risk for deflating suddenly. The company says so far no crashes or injuries have been reported as a result of these defects. The defective tires will be replaced at no charge to owners. Both tires have been redesigned to fix the problem. If you have questions or concerns about these product defects, please contact the company at (800) 944-8414.

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Fifteen-year-old Sonya De Anda Martinez and 6-year-old Jesus De Anda Martinez, were killed in a San Bernardino car accident after the Ford Explorer SUV in which they were traveling blew a tire, went out of control and rolled over. According to a news report in The Press-Enterprise, the parents, identified as 40-year-old David D. Chavez and Luz M. Chavarria, 35, of Las Vegas, were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

California Highway Patrol officials say the 1998 Ford Explorer was traveling on the Interstate 15 near Baker, the morning of April 29, 2012, when the left rear tire deflated. Chavez, who was driving, veered rapidly to the right across traffic lanes and the right shoulder. The Explorer became airborne and rolled down a 25-foot dirt embankment. Two passengers were ejected.

I offer my deepest condolence to the family members of these two children, especially the grieving parents. Tragic! Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. I also wish the injured parents the very best for a speedy and complete recovery.

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Even as two Wisconsin women, 22 and 33, filed a food poisoning lawsuit after suffering a bout of salmonella infection from contaminated sushi, a controversy has erupted over the use of “Nakaochi Scrape” or backmeat that is scraped off fish bones for use in sushi. According to a Reuters news report, the backmeat is added to products such as yellowfin tuna that is used in sushi. California-based Moon Marine USA has recalled 59,000 pounds of raw, ground yellowfin tuna from India, which was packaged as “Nakaochi Scrape AA” or “AAA.”

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Juan Alfredo Perez, 32, was killed in a Riverside County car accident after his Ford Expedition SUV overturned and crashed. According to a news report in The Press Enterprise, the SUV rollover accident occurred along Interstate 10 near Thousand Palms. Perez was ejected when the 1999 Ford Expedition overturned during the early morning hours of April 23, 2012. It is unclear what caused him to lose control of the vehicle or why the vehicle rolled over. Officials suspect the driver may have been traveling at a high rate of speed.

My deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of Juan Alfredo Perez following this terrible rollover accident. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

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Thomas Abdoyan, 28, of Burbank, was killed in a San Juan Capistrano car accident after the vehicle he was driving went out of control and crashed near Pacific Coast Highway. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, the fatal car accident occurred during the early morning hours of April 22, 2012 on the northbound side of the Interstate 5 close to Capistrano Beach.

According to California Highway Patrol officials, the 2006 Mini Cooper that Abdoyan was driving careened into the center median and rolled over several times before coming to rest on its roof about 650 feet from the first point of impact. Abdoyan went into cardiac arrest and died shortly afterward at the hospital. The 29-year-old male passenger sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Both were wearing their seatbelts at the time. Officials are still investigating the cause of this fatal accident.

I offer my deepest sympathies to everybody who knew and loved Thomas Abdoyan for their terrible loss. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. My heart also goes out to the passenger who was injured. I wish him the very best for a speedy and complete recovery.

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A defective product recall has been issued for nearly 90,000 STOK gas grills due to fire hazards. According to a news report in Consumer Affairs, there have so far been 569 reports of the regulators on the grill leaking propane gas. The propane leak at the regulators of these grills can could ignite, posing fire and burn hazards to consumers. The recall involves STOK Island and STOK Quattro gas grills. The grills were sold by Home Depot stores nationwide and in Canada and Direct Tools Factory Outlet stores nationwide from March 2011 through February 2012 for between $79 and $350. The defective grills were manufactured in China. Consumers are asked to immediately stop using the recalled grills and contact One World Technologies at (800) 867-9624.

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Rafael Gonzalez, 46, Isabel Arellano, 29, and Eddie Gonzalez, 33, all Las Vegas residents, were killed in a San Bernardino car accident after their Ford SUV went out of control and overturned. According to a news report in The Press-Enterprise, the fatal rollover accident occurred the night of April 18, 2012 on the Interstate 15 just south of Halloran Summit Road near Baker. Rafael Gonzalez was driving a 2002 Ford Expedition SUV north on the freeway when he lost control and swerved into the center divider. The SUV rolled over several times. The victims suffered fatal injuries. It is not known if there were any survivors. An investigation is ongoing.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family members and friends of Rafael Gonzalez, Isabel Arellano and Eddie Gonzalez for their tragic and heartbreaking loss. Please keep them in your thought and prayers.

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Federal safety regulators have found 16 car accidents and five injuries in an eight-month investigation of transmission control problems with BMW 7-Series luxury cars. According to an Associated Press news report, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched the investigation in August. The probe has now been “upgraded” to an engineering analysis, which takes it a step closer to a recall. However, no recalls have been announced yet.

This probe covers approximately 122,000 BMW vehicles from the 2002 to 2008 model years. These cars have a push-button start and electronic transmission controls. In some cases, the car owners may believe that their vehicles are in “park,” when they actually may be in neutral. The cars could roll away unexpectedly and crash. So far, the German automaker and federal investigators have received 50 complaints from consumers about this problem.

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A new study from Carfax shows that choosing to ignore auto defect recalls can seriously jeopardize public safety. According to a news release issued by Carfax, which serves as a vehicle history expert for used cars, in 2011, more than 2.7 million used cars were on sale online with safety issues that were never fixed. Carfax recommends that car owners and sellers can greatly improve public safety by actively checking for open recalls and having their vehicles repaired by franchise dealers. Not doing so is inexcusable because these fixes are always free and finding cars with open recalls is as easy as getting on a computer and checking the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s web site.

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German drug manufacturer Bayer AG will pay at least $110 million to settle approximately 500 lawsuits over claims that its Yaz and Yasmin birth control pills caused blood clots. According to a Bloomberg news report, the drug maker agreed to pay an average of about $220,000 per case to resolve the claims that the contraceptive pills caused dangerous side effects including blood clots that led to heart attacks and strokes. This case was the first that was set for trial out of more than 11,000 Yaz Yasmin lawsuits filed nationwide.

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