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Ford, Bridgestone-Firestone Settle Wrongful-Death Suit
Jan 9, 2003 | AP
Ford Motor Co. and Bridgestone-Firestone have settled civil charges brought after a tire blowout and crash killed a civil-rights leader and injured two others, the judge said Wednesday.Circuit Judge Howard Bryan said terms were confidential.
Killed in the 2000 crash of the Ford Explorer was Earl Shinhoster, a veteran NAACP official in Atlanta. The wreck also injured Samimah Aziz, a goddaughter of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and the driver, Ademah Hackshaw.
The Explorer was in a motorcade with the first lady of Liberia and a state patrol escort.
Shinhoster's wife, Ruby Shinhoster, and the two survivors had sued Ford and Bridgestone, claiming the companies were responsible for the crash.
Ruby Shinhoster said she was ready to go through a trial but felt the case had gone on long enough. The settlement was reached just before the trial was to begin.
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