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2005 CHEVROLET COBALT — STEERING

1 fatalfirecrash · 904857 · 2012-02-13

Vehicle

Make
CHEVROLET
Model
COBALT
Year
2005
Manufacturer
General Motors, LLC
Component
STEERING

Severity

Deaths
1
Injured
0
Fire
Yes
Crash
Yes
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

ON JANUARY 10TH, 2010 OUR DAUGHTER [XXX] 21 YRS. OLD WAS KILLED IN A CAR ACCIDENT. WE RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE FROM GM IN APRIL 2010 ON THE CAR A 2005 CHEVY COBALT FOR POWER STEERING FAILURE. THE RECALL INVOLVES REMOVING ENTIRE POWER STEERING MECHANISM BUILT BY A PARTIALLY OWNED TOYOTA FACTORY. I KNEW THE MINUTE I GOT THE NEWS THAT MY DAUGHTER WAS KILLED SO VIOLENTLY AND THAT IT DID NOT INVOLVE ANOTHER CAR THAT IT HAD TO BE MECHANICAL FAILURE. IT WAS TOO LATE TO SAVE OUR DAUGHTER [XXX] BUT NOT TOO LATE TO SAVE OTHERS, I CONTACTED GM WHO SENT THREE REPRESENTATIVES TO THE COPARTS SCRAP YARD IN DURYEA WHERE THE COBALT WAS STORED IN JULY TO INVESTIGATE THE CAR ACCIDENT. A PHOTOGRAPHER, AN ACCIDENT RECONSTRUCTIONIST AND A MECHANICAL ENGINEER THAT FLEW IN FROM DETROIT, THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO REMOVE THE BLACK BOX, COMPUTER FROM THE CAR AND ANALYZE THE DATA. WE WENT TO THE SCRAP YARD AND FOR THE FIRST TIME SAW THE WRECKAGE THAT WAS ONCE A BEAUTIFUL RED SPORTS CAR. ALL THE WINDOWS INCLUDING THE SUN ROOF WERE BLOWN OUT, THE COBALT HAD FLIPPED, ROLLED, EJECTING[XXX] ON TO THE HIGHWAY WHERE SHE WAS RUN OVER. WE ARE NOT SURE IF [XXX] WAS KILLED ON IMPACT. THE COBALT BURST INTO FLAMES MELTING THE INSTRUMENT PANEL, SHIFT, UPHOLSTERY. AT THE COPARTS SCRAP YARD IN DURYEA, MYSELF AND MY HUSBAND [XXX] FATHER SAW THE CAR FOR THE FIRST TIME THE COBALT TOLD THE STORY OF AN EXTREMELY VIOLENT WRECK. I WAS TOLD BY [XXX] THAT I WOULD KNOW THE RESULTS FROM THE BLACK BOX D

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10447739
Machine
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