Pittsburgh offer leaves Chrysler alone in flash-flood suit - Washington Times
PITTSBURGH (AP) - The city of Pittsburgh’s recent decision to pay $375,000 to settle legal claims brought by families of four people killed in flash flooding leaves Chrysler as the remaining defendant. The lawsuit was filed more than two years ago after Mary Saflin, 72, of Oakmont was swept to her death by a 9-foot wall of water on the city’s oft-flooded Washington Boulevard in August 2011. Because Saflin was outside her stranded vehicle, no... The remaining Chrysler claims were brought for the deaths of Kimberly Griffith, 45, of Plum, and her daughters, Brenna, 12, and Mikaela, 8, who drowned in their submerged minivan. Safety advocates warn against hunkering down in a submerged vehicle because water will leak in, so the best thing to do is get out and swim to safety whenever possible, Perer said. “Even if you saved 10 percent of those people, you’ve saved 50 people from death,” Perer said. Perer said he hopes the suit will lead to design changes in electronic windows or, failing that, backup remedies that enable someone to escape if the windows fail. Source: www.washingtontimes.com
