U. of U. settles lawsuit brought by Chinese scholars’ families for $500,000

By Brian Maffly The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake Tribune

Updated:08/07/2009 06:28:55 PM MDT

The University of Utah has settled a lawsuit brought by the families of seven Chinese scholars killed in a 2003 van rollover, cutting short a two-week trial in a Salt Lake City courtroom. State officials agreed to pay the plaintiffs, who include three men injured in the crash, nearly $500,000, just under a ceiling above which any settlement would require legislative approval. The U.’s offer came Thursday after the victims’ widows testified, leaving the jury in tears. When the U. agreed to host the Chinese delegation in 2002, the school assumed responsibility for arranging the scholars’ travel within the U.S., court records indicate. Attorneys for the families alleged the university acted negligently by contracting with an unlicensed travel business in New York, which in turn hired a driver unqualified to pilot the oversized van that plunged off a snow-covered Pennsylvania highway and folded against a tree. Coupled with a settlement from the van owner’s insurer, Friday’s settlement means the 10 families split $800,000. After the settlement was announced in court Friday, the trial’s fifth day, the widows hugged 3rd District Judge Robert Hilder, the jurors and even attorneys defending the U. The settlement concedes no negligence on the part of the university, whose lawyers were unavailable for comment Friday. Representatives of the widows said the women were satisfied with the settlement. A Hunan education official quoted the great Chinese scholar Confucius in expressing his pleasure with the outcome: “He wei gui,” which translates to “peacefulness is prized.” “The Univerity of Utah is a very good university, a world-famous university,” said Shu Fanqing, who directs the international exchange division of the province’s Department of Education. “I don’t think this tragedy will bring a negative impact to the future of our exchanges. We want to continue our exchange programs with the University of Utah. We Chinese people are very friendly to the American people.” The widows were not interested in damaging the U. and hope none of the settlement is pulled from its budget, said Robert Sykes, the Salt Lake City lawyer who represented them. He believes insurance will cover it. “It’s a good resolution,” the lawyer said. “It would have been nice if [the state] settled before they had to get on an airplane and travel 13,000 miles.” All the victims were married with one child. None of the widows has remarried, Sykes said. The U.’s Institute of International Tourism organized the delegation’s 28-day excursion, which featured two weeks in Utah followed by another two on the coasts. According to court records, a doctoral student associated with the institute contracted a New York man named Zhou Zhou to handle the group’s ground transportation in the East. “There was no verification of his status and they ended up using a kitchen-table operator,” Sykes said. Zhou hired driver Yi Chen, even though he lacked the skills to safely handle Zhou’s 15-passenger Chevrolet van, Sykes alleged. “Fifteen-passenger vans can be very, very dangerous. You have to know how to drive them,” he said. “They have an oversteer problem, meaning if they are loaded and something sudden happens on the road and you steer, the van steers farther than you expect with a car.” At the time of the accident on April 7, 2003, the group was en route from Buffalo, N.Y., to Washington, D.C. They had just lunched at a McDonald’s in Williamsport, Pa., and were enjoying the late-season snowstorm, said survivor Ke Qin Peng, a botanist from Hunan Agricultural University who was riding in the van’s front seat. As they were heading south on Route 15, the van crested a hill and began fishtailing before sliding off the highway. Peng was knocked unconsciousness, then awoke to find many of colleagues strewn around the snow. Two colleagues, Xiao Yang Li and Yi Wei, survived, but endured serious head trauma. The driver survived with bone fractures. “Seven of my friends were beyond help,” Peng said. “I climbed out and shouted for help. Lots of people came down to help save my friends.” bmaffly@sltrib.com Van crash The 10 men killed or injured in the April 7, 2003, crash outside Williamsport, Pa., were vice presidents at universities in China’s Hunan province. Killed were: Zhang Keming, 49, Yiyang Teachers College Tang Shouyin, 45, Hunan Engineering Institute Liao Liusheng, 46, Chenzhou Teachers College Deng Guoyang, 44, Nanhua University Ouyanag Zao, 51, Xiangtan Normal University He Yunkun, 38, Xiangtan University Huang He, 47, Hunan Commercial College Injured were: Xiao Yang Li, Huaihua Medical College Yi Wei, Changde Normal University Ke Qin Peng, Hunan Agricultural University Also injured was driver Yi Chen, 35

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Police Crack Down On Safety In School Van Sting

BOSTON (WBZ) ― Boston police and Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicle safety inspectors launched a school van sting Thursday in an effort to crack down on child transportation vehicles that are operating with violations, putting passengers at risk.

The sting is part of the 10th annual Operation Guardian Angel program in which police and inspectors pull over and inspect 7-D vans and station wagons on their way to schools and day care centers to drop the children off.

Police said in the past these stings have revealed numerous violations such as improper restraint of toddlers, over-crowding and unlicensed operators.

Currently, more than 40 states ban school students from being driven to and from school in both 12 and 15 passenger vans. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued repeated safety warnings specifically about 15-passenger vans because of their high propensity to roll over if overloaded.

Last year, WBZ’s I-team did a report on individual Massachusetts cities deciding to ban these types of vans on their own.

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The Ford E-350 15 Passenger Wagon received the lowest rating of 2-Stars (5 is best) for any vehicle on the road today by SaferCar.gov. You can view the van rollover ratings on the SaferCar.gov website and see the Rollover ratings in the 2×4 column of the report.

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Alexis “Lexie” James, 10, killed when a 15-passenger van blew a tire and overturned while traveling in South Carolina. Lexie was ejected even through she was wearing a seat belt. The James family has since started a non-profit organization called the American Center for Van and Tire Safety to raise awareness on the dangers of these vans.

WASHINGTON - Patrick James was hours away from burying his 10-year-old daughter when he started to learn some disturbing things about her death.

Lexie James was killed in July when the van she was riding in spun out of control and flipped over four times on Interstate 26 in South Carolina. Though she was wearing a seat belt, Lexie was somehow thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene.

What James didn’t know, but would soon discover, was that tests have raised a number of safety questions about 15-passenger vans like the one in which Lexie was riding. The federal government, in fact, has issued four safety warnings about such vehicles since 2001.

“If they are so dangerous, why does the general public not know about this?” James asked himself over and over again.

In his grief, James decided to do whatever he could to make sure everyone knows the risks of climbing aboard one of the vehicles.

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Van Angels has launched Facebook and MySpace sites. The Facebook group over 500 members as of this writing. Note: You must have a Facebook account to see the Van Angels group on Facebook.

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From CBCNews.ca

The British Columbia Federation of Labour is calling for a ban on 15-passenger vans that are often used to transport farm workers.

The request comes after a WorkSafeBC investigation suggested a wide range of safety violations contributed to a deadly van crash in Abbotsford, B.C., in March 2007 that killed three farm workers and injured 14 others.

The van carrying 17 people rolled over on Highway 1 near Sumas in B.C.’s Fraser Valley.
(CBC)

Passenger overloading, poor tire maintenance, the lack of seatbelts, inadequate driver qualification, road conditions and vehicle instability all played a role in the accident, WorkSafeBC said in a report released Thursday.

The contents of the report is proof that the safety of farm workers is being ignored, said B.C. Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair.

“They are they are riding to work in death traps,” he said.

B.C. Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon reacted by promising a safety crackdown when the farming season gets underway this spring.

“Our vehicle inspectors will be out there targeting this sector again,” he said.

WorkSafeBC said the van, owned by RHA Enterprises, had numerous problems.

The report found there were only two seatbelts in the van, and some of the passengers were ejected when the vehicle flipped onto the median. It also found the 15-passenger van was carrying 17 people at the time of the crash.

“The driver of the van held a B.C. Class 5 driver’s licence; however the Motor Vehicle Act requires a commercial Class 4 licence to operate a commercial vehicle transporting more than 10, but fewer than 25 workers,” said the report.

The report said the following factors contributed to the loss of vehicle control:

• “Poor visibility and the wet road and may have caused the driver … to steer into the shoulder of the highway.”
• “Improperly inflated tires, with poor tread on the front tires may have permitted the passenger van to hydroplane on the wet road.”
• “The driver of the passenger van lacked adequate knowledge and training to safely operate a 15-passenger vehicle in adverse conditions.”
• “The risk of rollover for 15-passenger van increases when there are more than 10 occupants because the centre of gravity shifts towards the rear of the van.”

Roberta Ellis, the vice-president of the policy, investigations and review division of WorkSafeBC, said they are considering a penalty against the labour contractor who employed and transported the workers to farms in the Fraser Valley.

“The law allows for an administrative penalty of up to half-a-million dollars and so that’s the next stage for us. Orders are issued to the employer, the employer is advised the officer is recommending a penalty,” said Ellis.

The employer now has 70 days to file an appeal, said Ellis.

The report has also been submitted to the B.C. coroner’s office, which is expected to conduct its own inquest later this year. The case would then be turned over to police and the Crown to conduct their own investigation, which could result in criminal charges.

Van was carrying farm workers

The 15-passenger van owned by RHA Enterprises Ltd was carrying 16 farm workers plus the driver when it crashed on Highway 1 in Abbotsford during the early hours of March 7, 2007. The workers were heading east on Highway 1 toward Chilliwack.

“The vehicle collided with two transport trucks, rolled and landed on its roof on the highway median. It was raining heavily at the time, visibility was poor, and the roads were very wet,” said the report.

Amarjit Kaur Bal, Sarabjit Kaur Sidhu and Sukhwinder Kaur Punia all died. The 14 others in the van were injured, some of them seriously.

Most of the victims, whose ages ranged from the teens to over 50, were Indo-Canadian immigrants employed by the labour contractor on a casual basis to work on various Fraser Valley farms.

The crash prompted the provincial government to resume random safety checks of vehicles carrying farm workers.

In 2001, the then newly elected Liberal government cancelled a program that routinely inspected the vans.

At least seven people have died and at least 34 have been injured in accidents involving the transportation of farm workers in B.C. since that time.

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Greetings! Due to the wonderful site vanangels.org, we found out about the dual rear wheel conversions, and are about to finish converting our first van. These are the pictures of what we have gone through to make the changes. We look forward to completing our other one after this, and to introducing other churches/organizations in our area to the concept!!! Thank you so much for your efforts. Feel free to contact us if you need. Take care, and may God Bless!!

Gerald

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To the parents of the 7 Bathurst High School boys,

On January 11, 2008, your lives were changed forever. I know how you feel. On June 30, 2002, I lost my 17-year old daughter, Malori, in van rollover accident.

While Van Angels is an education and advocacy site, we also are very aware of the heartbreak that happens when you lose a child. I receive many emails from parents who lose children. I understand what you’re going through.

Today, know that I am praying for you. I’m watching the following video and thanking God for the wonderful kids you all have. I honor their memory and their legacy.

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This is a MUST see video about the dangers of 15-passenger vans created by 60-Minutes. Loaded with authoritative tests and proof of the dangers. NOTE: At the end of the video, the reporter mentions a crash simulation video. Click here to watch the simulation.

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Passenger van used in crash comes under scrutiny as Transport …
The Canadian Press -
A 15-seat van - a 1997 Ford Club Wagon - was carrying members of the Bathurst High School basketball team back from a game in nearby Moncton shortly after …
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Federal probe sought into 15-passenger vans after deadly school trip
CBC - Newfoundland & Labrador - St. John’s,Newfoundland and Labrador,Canada
“We do allow the use of the 15-passenger van on our road for field trips or sporting events,” said Martin Dubois, a spokesman for Alberta’s Transport …
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