Firestone death toll stands at 148, NHTSA says

WASHINGTON (Dec. 6)—The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it now has reports on 148 deaths involving Firestone tires, up from the 119 listed as of Oct. 17. The deaths arose from more than 4,300 complaints on the tires, which also include more than 525 injuries. The new summary includes the first four deaths to be reported since the recall of 6.5 million Firestone ATX and Wilderness tires was announced Aug. 9. Three were reported to NHTSA by Bridgestone/Firestone Inc., and one was gathered independently by the agency, a NHTSA spokesman said. It also includes five deaths connected not with the recalled tires, but with the 1.4 million Firestone tires NHTSA named in a Sept. 1 consumer advisory. Bridgestone/Firestone offered to inspect and replace those tires free of charge for any motorist who asked, but refused to add them to the recall.