Leslie Tena Killed on State Highway 176 in Andrews County, Texas, After a Tire Blowout Accident

Andrews County, TX — A 28-year-old woman from Odessa lost her life Tuesday evening following a single-vehicle crash caused by a tire blowout, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The incident occurred around 6:00 p.m. on State Highway 176. Authorities reported that Leslie Tena was driving an eastbound 2010 Land Rover SUV when its left rear tire blew out. The blowout caused the SUV to veer across the roadway into the north barrow ditch, where it struck a barbed wire fence and rolled over, ejecting Tena.

Leslie Tena was pronounced dead at the scene.

 The tire needs to be inspected to determine if the blowout was caused by a defect in the tire. Tire manufacturers are responsible for crashes caused by tire defects.

Police and other investigators do not investigate what caused a tire to fail. They look at all tire blowouts the same. However, what caused the tire to fail is very important. This is because when a tire fails due to a defect in the tire, the manufacturer can and should be held responsible for the crash.

We recently settled a fatal crash for a family who lost their daughter in a tire blowout accident. The young girl was killed while traveling with her boyfriend in a Chevy S-10. As the boyfriend began to merge the vehicle off the freeway, the right rear-wheel tire blew out, causing him to lose control of the truck. The truck ended up rolling over, and despite the young girl properly wearing her seatbelt, her upper body was ejected from the vehicle. She passed away at the scene of the crash.

When we investigated the accident to determine why the tire failed, it was clear that the tire should not have blown out when it did. The tire was defective. We brought a lawsuit on behalf of the surviving family to hold the manufacturer responsible for their loved one’s death.

This same scenario happens over and over again all across the country. Many of these accidents go uninvestigated because the police and others assume it was simply bad luck that the tire failed. Investigating the cause of the tire failure is the only way to know for sure whether the tire was defective or if the tire failed for some other reason.

If the tire maker caused this crash by producing and selling a defective tire to innocent motorists, the company should be held responsible.

May the surviving family receive the answers, justice, and support they need during this difficult time.

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The Ammons Law Firm represents clients nationwide in personal injury and wrongful death litigation.

Disclaimer: This post is not legal advice. Information contained in this blog was compiled from third-party sources or is the opinion of the author. Please inform us immediately if false or misleading information is contained in this post.