2 families sue Ford, Bridgestone/Firestone

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (July 26)—Two Jacksonville families have filed suit against Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. and Ford Motor Co. over deaths involving Firestone tires. The suits allege tread separations on Firestone ATX and Wilderness tires installed as original equipment on Ford Explorers caused the two rollover accidents which proved fatal to William Touchton, a clergyman, and 10-year-old Athena Lingenfelser. A Ford spokeswoman said the company hasn´t yet been served with the complaints. "There have been about 25 suits involving the Ford Explorer and the ATX and Wilderness tires," she said, "but the only one that was ever tried was found in favor of Ford and Firestone." Both Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone defended their safety records, saying that 3½ million Explorers and nearly 48 million ATX and Wilderness tires have given motorists billions of miles of trouble-free service. Gary Pajcic, attorney for the two families, could not be reached for comment.