Goodyear counts 15 deaths, 125 injuries in Load Range E accidents

AKRON (Oct. 30)—Goodyear said it has told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of 15 deaths and 125 injuries "over the past five or six years" involving the Load Range E tires that were the subject of an article in the "Los Angeles Times." A Goodyear spokesman said, "The vast majority of the injuries were scrapes, cuts and bruises." In investigating the 30 accidents, "every single tire we have had the opportunity to examine has shown indication of impact damage, puncture damage or overloading and underinflation," Joseph A. Gingo, Goodyear senior vice president of technology & global products planning, said in a prepared statement. The Oct. 25 "Times" articles said the paper had discovered reports of eight deaths and 20 injuries involving Goodyear Load Range E tires while studying documents from two dozen lawsuits.