Two women were killed and several others injured in a GMC van rollover accident south on the I-5 in Stockton after the van tire separated on July 12th. According to an article in the Stockton Record, Diana Aguilar, 21 and Elpildia Hernandez, 78 were killed in the crash while 18-year-old Jose Luis Hernandez, the driver Maria Felix Hernandez, 40, Dioniosio Sanchez, 42, Joanna Hernandez, 28 and a 6-year-old girl were injured in the accident.

California Highway Patrol officials said that Hernandez was driving in the fast lane when a tire separated. She tried to steer hard to the left and lost control of the van slamming it into the center divider. The van rolled over and Aguilar, Elpildia Hernandez and Luis Hernandez were ejected. CHP officials are saying drugs or alcohol were not involved, but are holding Maria Hernandez tentatively at fault for her turning movement.

My deepest condolences to the family for the losses and injuries they have suffered.

It is interesting that CHP officials are blaming Maria Hernandez. Nothing in the report indicated that Maria Hernandez did anything wrong.. Once that tire separated she had very little chance to control the van or keep it from rolling over. General Motors, when it made this van, had the best opportunity to keep this van from rolling over in this type of auto accident. I’ve seen more instances than I like of General Motors made vans and SUVs doing exactly this – flipping over after a tire failure even at normal driving speeds due to inherent automobile design defects.

Tire tread separations are often the result of design and manufacturing defects for which tire manufacturers are liable under the law. Product manufacturers also have the legal responsibility to notify consumers about dangerous defects with their products and undertake recalls. There have been many cases of defective tires being sold to consumers or put on new vehicles by manufacturers. There have also been many cases of tire manufacturers failing to recall defective tires until lawsuits have been filed by injured drivers and passengers.

Why were three people ejected in this rollover accident? There is a very good chance that the restraint system, the seat belts, failed. Yes, seat belt systems regularly fail in rollover accidents. And General Motors is well aware of it. It would cost them less than a dollar a seat to fix the problem.

My partner, Brian Chase, is one of the nation’s leading expert attorneys in matters of seat belt failures and defects. His depositions of auto manufacturer’s engineers regarding seat belts and their failures are legendary in the industry and are frequently used by other attorneys in their cases. He frequently lectures on the subject to attorney and trial lawyer groups.

If I were representing the victims of this rollover accident, I’d immediate secure the GMC van and its tires to support possible claims against General Motors and the tire manufacturer. I would be looking for defects in the tire that caused it to separate. I would be looking at the accident sequence to see if the inherent design of the van and/or its lack of a stability control system caused or contributed to the rollover. I would be looking at the seat belts to see if they failed to properly restrain the van’s occupants. I would be interviewing the survivors and witnesses for clues. The CHP’s Traffic Collision report will not be available for some time but as soon as it is, I’d be going over it with a fine toothed comb to see what the CHP discovered at the scene.

In an accident like this the CHP is usually very good at documenting an accident scene and give their opinion as to cause. However, the CHP rarely has the resources and doesn’t have the duty, to analyise an accident for civil liability, especially for issues of a defective product.

Concerned parties would be well advised to move quickly to secure representation or at least a consultation. Chose a top personal injury attorney in orange county, ca who has successful handled at least a few dozen of cases against General Motors, as a minimum and who is very familiar with rollover and seat belt cases. The best attorneys will provide a free consultation.