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Mechanic killed after Jeep ‘lurched forward’ following oil change. Vehicle owner sued
The Charlotte Observer ^ | May 5, 2022 | Kaitlyn Alanis

Posted on 05/05/2022 1:32:59 PM PDT by gitmo

A Jeep Wrangler with a manual transmission was taken to a Michigan car dealership for an oil change and tire rotation, but after the work was complete, court records say the vehicle “lurched forward” as a lube technician tried operating it. Jeep Wrangler with a manual transmission was taken to a Michigan car dealership for an oil change and tire rotation, but after the work was complete, court records say the vehicle “lurched forward” as a lube technician tried operating it.

The red 2019 Wrangler then crushed mechanic Jeffrey Hawkins against a cabinet on March 13, 2020, records say. He was taken to a hospital, where he died of his injuries at 42 years old.

The owner of the Jeep is being sued in a Michigan circuit court along with the 19-year-old technician accused of operating the vehicle when it crushed Hawkins. The lawsuit filed in March 2021 says vehicle owner Sergio Enrique Diaz-Navarro is “vicariously liable for the negligent acts” of technician Daniel Aleczander Thompson when his use of the vehicle led to the death of a certified mechanic.

SNIP

“Thompson reached into the vehicle and pressed brake with his right foot, keeping his other foot on the floor,” the plaintiff summary says. “He pressed the start button. When the vehicle did not start, he took his foot off the brake and depressed the clutch pedal. He again hit the start button. This time the Jeep started. He removed his foot from the clutch, still standing outside the vehicle. The vehicle lurched forward.”

At about 8:11 a.m., court records say Hawkins was in front of the Jeep and on his knees to grab something from a metal cabinet. As he had his back turned from the Jeep, he was crushed against the cabinet.

SNIP

(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: chat; chatforum; hitthebreaks; jeep; keywordmorons; learntodrive; mechanic; sued; toughbrake
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To: V_TWIN
My jeep is automatic but it won’t even turn over until a butt is firmly behind the wheel.

I'll have to try that out on my vehicle.

41 posted on 05/05/2022 1:54:05 PM PDT by gitmo (If your theology doesn't become your biography, what good is i)
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To: gitmo

Idiot “lube technician” (what a title) probably turned on the ignition and popped the clutch with his colleague still working on the engine. That would definitely cause a manual transmission vehicle to “lurch”. And the relatives of the deceased must be even dumber. Who’s the employer of the aforementioned idiot and who’s going to have the deeper pockets? A Jeep owner or the Oil Change business?


42 posted on 05/05/2022 1:54:43 PM PDT by katana
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To: V_TWIN

Young actor Anton Yelchin was killed when his Jeep lurched.

.


43 posted on 05/05/2022 1:55:00 PM PDT by Mears ( )
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To: IllumiNaughtyByNature
If you press them all at the same time it does a reset on the car back to factory settings.

If you do that once a week, you never have to change the oil.

44 posted on 05/05/2022 1:55:27 PM PDT by gitmo (If your theology doesn't become your biography, what good is i)
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To: Reno89519

The Lawyer that filed the case is going to name everyone involved in hope that some of them will have a pot of gold.

The shop owner and the jeep owner’s INS company will both be forking out some cash.


45 posted on 05/05/2022 1:56:06 PM PDT by Beagle8U ("Per DNC instructions...Joy Reid is busy packing marbles up her @$$.")
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To: Still Thinking

If they can hold gun manufacturers libel for misuse of a gun then they can hold car manufacturers libel for misuse of cars.🙄


46 posted on 05/05/2022 1:56:52 PM PDT by BiteYourSelf ( Earth first we'll strip mine the other planets later.)
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To: gitmo

Maybe because he has pockets at least deep enough to afford a Jeep.


47 posted on 05/05/2022 1:59:27 PM PDT by bigbob
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To: gitmo

It’s due to the sue crazy society we live in.


48 posted on 05/05/2022 2:00:37 PM PDT by SkyDancer ( I make airplanes fly, what's your super power?)
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To: eastforker

Even if someone was watching standing around drinking coffee while the accident happened.


49 posted on 05/05/2022 2:01:44 PM PDT by SkyDancer ( I make airplanes fly, what's your super power?)
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To: gitmo

If anything, the dealership should be liable. How many 19 year old employees know how to drive a stick?


50 posted on 05/05/2022 2:10:19 PM PDT by Vigilanteman (The politicized state destroys aspects of civil society, human kindness and private charity.)
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To: Vigilanteman

I could drive a straight drive at 15.


51 posted on 05/05/2022 2:14:54 PM PDT by gitmo (If your theology doesn't become your biography, what good is i)
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To: gitmo
Thompson told authorities that he did not have a driver’s license, records show, and he did not know how to operate vehicles with manual transmissions. The 19-year-old also said he’d never taken a driver education class or been taught how to use stick shift vehicles.

The stealership is screwed, as is Thompson, but the focus will be on the deep pockets.

52 posted on 05/05/2022 2:15:32 PM PDT by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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To: dragnet2

You would think they would ask those things before hiring the lad.


53 posted on 05/05/2022 2:17:34 PM PDT by gitmo (If your theology doesn't become your biography, what good is i)
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To: gitmo
My jeep is automatic but it won’t even turn over until a butt is firmly behind the wheel.

I'll have to try that out on my vehicle.

The thing I like the most about my 1996 RAV4 is that I can reach in and crank it without even setting my jaw right.   Plus, it runs so quietly that I once left it running when I took a day flight to Nashville and back and it was still puffing away sitting in the long term parking lot in the busiest airport in the country.

54 posted on 05/05/2022 2:25:15 PM PDT by higgmeister ( In the Shadow of The Big Chicken)
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To: gitmo

You bet, and someone got killed because of that. Companies tell people they’ll train them, turns out most of the time there is little or training. They apparently didn’t even check to see if he was qualified/licensed to drive a car. Being crushed to death is not a good way to go.


55 posted on 05/05/2022 2:28:46 PM PDT by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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To: gitmo

If you are under 40, then you grew up in flyover country. Few can.


56 posted on 05/05/2022 2:29:50 PM PDT by Vigilanteman (The politicized state destroys aspects of civil society, human kindness and private charity.)
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To: Vigilanteman

I’ll be 70 in a couple weeks.


57 posted on 05/05/2022 2:31:59 PM PDT by gitmo (If your theology doesn't become your biography, what good is i)
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To: gitmo

Or when having an automatic was not cool, something old folks drove.


58 posted on 05/05/2022 2:33:48 PM PDT by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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To: gitmo

The lawyers probably figured out they could get more money out of the owner than the technician driving it who probably turned the ignition key without stepping on the clutch.


59 posted on 05/05/2022 2:37:57 PM PDT by antidemoncrat ( adn)
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To: gitmo; All

The Jeep was in gear. Another case of incompetence.


60 posted on 05/05/2022 2:42:35 PM PDT by Cobra64 (Common sense isn’t common anymore.)
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