Jury awards $5.6 million continued from preceding page “We’re trying to stop something like this crazy mess that we went through from happening to somebody else,” Schalmo, 57, said Monday. Goodyear spokesman Rob Whitehouse said the company plans to appeal the verdict. “This was an unfortunate accident and our thoughts and prayers are with those injured,” Whitehouse said in a statement. “However, Mr. Schalmo ignored a number of safety issues with his vehicle that led to the accident, including: failing to hook-up the supplemental brakes on the vehicle he was <strong>tow</strong>ing, ignoring a vibration in his steering wheel for more than five minutes and getting out of the driver’s seat while the vehicle was traveling at highway speeds. “Also, Goodyear tire experts determined the vehicle’s front tire had been punctured in two locations.” The crash occurred on Interstate 10, near Chipley, in the Panhandle. Schalmo, his wife, Kelly, daughter Chelsea Decker and Kelly’s parents, Bill and Ruth McClintock, were bound for Houston for son Jim Decker’s graduation in the Air Force. Davis TruTrac <strong>bars</strong> If your customer’s motorhome has one of these chassis… • Ford F53 (V8: ’88-’98 or V10: ’98-’05) • Workhorse (W16 through W24, ’00-’09) • Freightliner front engine diesel (FRED) — ’07-’09 • Kodiak 45/5500 (’03-’09) Does your motorhome vibrate from side to side? Are “wandering,” “rut tracking” and “lazy steering” a problem? Tired and fatigued trying to keep in line going down the road? Davis TruTrac <strong>bars</strong> link the chassis to the front axle, eliminating excessive axle side play, without affecting normal up-and-down suspension travel. The result is precise, predictable handling. The benefits are an immediate improvement in both vehicle performance and safety, as well as increased driver comfort — more positive control means less driver fatigue. Each TruTrac bar comes complete with all mounting hardware, and installs using pre-drilled factory holes — no drilling or welding required. They will not interfere with any factory original equipment, or affect any factory warranty. Davis TruTrac <strong>bars</strong> are available for Ford F53 (V8 and V10), and all Workhorse motorhome chassis (W16, W18, W20, W22 and W24), Freightliner front engine 58 …he needs a Davis TruTrac bar! Instead, they spent weeks in a hospital in Dothan, Ala. Hugh Smith, one of Schalmo’s attorneys, said he showed jurors internal Goodyear documents, including speed- and heat-testing results that demonstrated that the tire was improperly approved by Goodyear for continuous 75-mph highway use on Class A motorhomes. Smith said Goodyear is fighting to keep those documents confidential, and Circuit Judge Stanley Mills gave the company 45 days to make its case for sealing them. John and Kelly, 49, are back home in New Port Richey, where they own a site contracting business. Ruth McClintock lives with them. Her husband, who lived for a time with two prosthetic legs, died two years ago at age 81. “His heart just finally gave up,” Schalmo said. Smith said this case was the first involving this style of Goodyear tire to reach a verdict. Others have been filed but they settled out of court, Smith said. Schalmo wanted a trial. “It was simply to make Goodyear admit that they’ve got a tire out there that’s a problem,” he said. n diesel chassis (FRED), as well as Kodiak 45/5500 chassis. Davis TruTrac <strong>bars</strong> are zinc-plated and come with polyurethane bushings for maximum stability and longevity. What do our customers say? “My F53 chassis would vibrate so bad that it shook the whole motorhome. The only way to stop the vibration was to slow down to 20 mph — which almost got me rear-ended twice. Finally my wife told me, ‘I’m not riding in that motorhome any more.’ A mechanic told me about Davis TruTrac <strong>bars</strong>. I had one installed and the vibrations stopped immediately. I drove that motorhome for another 150,000 miles (with my wife back on board) and it was solid as a rock. Buying that Davis TruTrac bar was the best move I ever made.” — John Kielty, Reno, Nevada
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