Police in Riverside County have identified a man who died in a Riverside rollover accident as Milton Perry Jr., 87. According to an article in The Desert Sun, Perry was heading east on the Interstate 10, near Desert Center the morning of April 25, 2009, when a tire blew out and the pickup he was driving went off the road and rolled over. Riverside County Coroner’s officials say Perry was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the pickup. He was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after this Indio rollover crash.

My heart goes out to the family of Milton Perry Jr. who was tragically killed in this Riverside County rollover accident. I offer my deepest condolences to everyone who knew and loved this man. Please keep him in your prayers.

Tire failure or tire tread separation are among the most common car product defects which cause drivers to lose control of their vehicles, especially when they are traveling at freeway speeds. When a tire blows out, the vehicle tends to go out of control and it is tough, even for experienced drivers, to correct such a situation. At least 10,000 people die each year in rollover accidents in the United States, according to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

If I were a member of Milton Perry Jr.’s family, I would get in touch with reputed California car product defect attorneys who can help determine whether or not this car accident was caused by a defective tire. The vehicle and the tire must be preserved in their current condition unaltered so they can be examined by an expert for product defects, malfunction and other evidence.

Although the official report states Perry was not wearing his seatbelt, I would also want to look into whether his seat restraint system failed during the rollover crash. Often, in rollover accident, victims’ injuries become fatal when a seatbelt fails and the victim is thrown out of the vehicle. There are any number of reasons for seatbelt failure. The side release of end release belts are prone to false latching or unlatching in accident.

At Bisnar | Chase, our car product defect attorneys have seen many cases of failures of seat belt mounts, buckles, webbing and grabbers. In accidents such as this one, the body of the ejected person must be examined for evidence of seatbelt bruising and marking. The webbing must be examined microscopically for grabber marks, blood stains and other physical evidence that would indicate that the seatbelt was in use at the time of the car accident.