Arizona Supreme Court: Jeep can be sued over girl’s death
By BOB CHRISTIE
Associated Press
PHOENIX (AP) — The family of a little girl who was killed when her mother’s car was rear-ended by a Jeep on a Phoenix freeway can sue the SUV’s manufacturer for wrongful death because it did not install automatic emergency braking devices. Tuesday’s ruling from the Arizona Supreme Court rejected arguments from lawyers for Jeep parent company Fiat Chrysler that a federal safety agency’s decision not to require the devices blocked the state lawsuit. The 2015 crash on a Phoenix freeway killed 4-year-old Vivian Varela and injured her mom. Vivian was in the back seat when the driver of a Jeep Grand Cherokee failed to notice stopped traffic and rear-ended her mother’s Lexus sedan.
