Firestone: An Example Of The Stories And Visuals Tied To A Crisis

While writing the last entry for the Ford/Firestone crisis, I stumbled upon this webpage showing an example of one of the accidents caused by a Firestone tire blowout. I was compelled to enter the story and pictures into my blog so you can see stories and visuals that exist relating to the crisis.

It has been about six years since the crisis and pictures and stories about the crisis are still easily obtainable. It is important to understand that people are involved with crisis situations. The following story is about a man who suffered injuries when his tire blew out. The picture above is his explorer after the accident.


I was hoping you would post what happened to me and my explorer. I hate to see what is happening also.
-(victim's name)

I was coming home after visiting my fiance on Father's day 2000. I had been driving for 2 and half hours in 90 degree heat. I was traveling about 75 mph and I was cornering around a ramp and was slowing down from 55mph to 45 mph when i went off the ramp slightly. I tried to correct my position on the road but was suddenly unable to do so.

My 1996 Eddie Bauer Explorer with 16" Firestone wilderness tires on it rolled 8 times and flipped 1 1/2 times in the air as it went carreening off the interstate. I suffered severe back injuries from the accident caused by the defective seatbelts which are also on this model of the Explorer. If my pregnant fiance or my future daughter were riding with me they would have most certainly been killed as evident by the photos.

I had to sell my house and have my credit destroyed by the coverup and seemingly illegal actions of Ford and the Firestone corporation. It took a few months to realize why the vehicle went out of control. Both the front and rear tires on the left side were ripped off from the rim. I used to buy Firestone all the time and have been a lifelong owner of Ford vehicles, guess not anymore.
Please anyone who has the same situation be careful.


Think about this man's story when deciding how to handle a public relations crisis.

http://www.firestone-tire-recall.com/pages/accident_reports/11_2_ford_Explorer.html


PT ADYATMIKA SAKTI NUSANTARA
no.1 Communication Strategic Consultant