Adam Palmer. Cruise control set to 70. Hit guard rail at 100. Rollover. Fire. Adam burns to death.
Date: Aug. 11, 2009
Victim: Adam Palmer
Location: Mendon, Mass.
Model: 2007 Toyota Scion TC
Details: The last thing Joseph Mele remembers before the crash that killed his friend, 22-year-old Adam Palmer, was that he had the cruise control on his Scion set at 70 mph as he traveled northward along Interstate 495 near the Massachusetts-Rhode Island border, Mele's father said in an interview.
Massachusetts State Police investigators estimated the car crashed into a guard rail at 100 mph. Mele was able to extract himself from the vehicle after it rolled over but Palmer was not. The Scion burst into flames. Palmer was pronounced dead at the scene.
The crash remains under investigation, according to police. Mele's father, Gary, said his son received a citation in the accident but was challenging it.
"This is in the courts," Gary Mele said, declining to discuss the accident in more detail.
Mele's mother, Cheryl, filed a complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in February seeking a review of whether sudden unintended acceleration might have been the cause.
"The crashes on these cars are overlooked because drivers are mostly teenagers and young adults are buying them and officials and insurance companies blame accidents on driver inexperience," she said in her complaint.
Gary Mele said the family hadn't received any response from Toyota or NHTSA.
The Scion is not included in any of the recent Toyota recalls.
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Here is what Barr had to say about this phenomenon as it manifested in the Camry, based on vehicle testing by Louden. On stand in Bookout:
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...Kevin, I like you, and I certainly do not want to see any more people burned to death. I suggest that a nice guy like you should change jobs and work for good guys instead of admitted criminals who did not bother to ensure Adam's life and safety.
You'll be happier and more fulfilled that way. You can use your legal skills to bring real good to the world, instead of perpetuating an unjust status quo of corporate hegemony that can result in gruesome deaths like this one. And I can tell you from the heart that being relatively poorer is not the end of the world, especially if it is the price you pay for doing the right thing.
How do I know that you have the right heart to change jobs?
From your Skadden bio, for one:
******************************************************************
Here is what Barr had to say about this phenomenon as it manifested in the Camry, based on vehicle testing by Louden. On stand in Bookout:
******************************************************************
...Kevin, I like you, and I certainly do not want to see any more people burned to death. I suggest that a nice guy like you should change jobs and work for good guys instead of admitted criminals who did not bother to ensure Adam's life and safety.
You'll be happier and more fulfilled that way. You can use your legal skills to bring real good to the world, instead of perpetuating an unjust status quo of corporate hegemony that can result in gruesome deaths like this one. And I can tell you from the heart that being relatively poorer is not the end of the world, especially if it is the price you pay for doing the right thing.
How do I know that you have the right heart to change jobs?
From your Skadden bio, for one:
- The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, on a pro bono basis, in the filing of a United States Supreme Court amicus brief supporting the right to free speech and peaceful protest on public roads in California.