— A Ford F-650 truck crash is the focus of a $1 million lawsuit filed by the driver of a 26-foot U-Haul truck.
In August 2023, plaintiff Michael Garrison, Jr. rented a 26-foot moving truck from a U-Haul store in Houston, Texas.
Mr. Garrison was driving the 2022 Ford F-650 in August 2023 at about 11:30 p.m. on Highway 59 in a rural area of Shelby County, Texas. Mr. Garrison's girlfriend, Sarah Bentle, was traveling in a separate vehicle directly behind the U-Haul truck.
The lawsuit alleges the Ford truck suddenly suffered "a catastrophic mechanical failure consistent with the defect identified in Ford's Safety Recall 22V-013." The recall was issued in January 2022 for F-Series trucks equipped with 6.7L diesel engines.
"The engine compartment began to emit heavy smoke, which quickly erupted into a raging fire originating from the fuel system in the underhood area—precisely the type of failure Ford had warned could occur due to the defective secondary fuel filter cap."
According to the plaintiff, the fire and system failures caused the Ford F-650 to swerve violently across the highway. Mr. Garrison's girlfriend witnessed the incident which forced her to swerve her Cadillac Escalade off the road to avoid the burning U-Haul truck. The truck overturned onto its passenger side and skidded to a stop on fire.
The plaintiff says he was trapped inside the burning 2022 Ford F-650 and was saved only because a "courageous passing motorist witnessed the inferno, stopped, and used a fire extinguisher to beat back the flames, allowing Mr. Garrison to escape the cab."
According to the lawsuit, the Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report confirms the U-Haul "caught fire under the hood," lost control, struck a light pole and road signs, and overturned before coming to rest.
The plaintiff contends Ford's 6.7L Power Stroke diesel engine fuel systems have suffered multiple problems in the past, including as mentioned in the 2022 recall.
Multiple times the lawsuit references the January 2022 recall of Ford F-650 trucks for problems related to "a small void may be present in the top center of the vehicle's underhood secondary fuel filter cap" which "can progress to a pinhole.., allowing fuel to leak."
The plaintiff also blames defendant U-Haul for allegedly not repairing the 2022 Ford F-650 prior to renting the truck.
But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the 2022 Ford F-650 was not included in the previous recall. That recall included 2021 F-Series trucks only, not 2022 model years.
The Ford F-650 U-Haul lawsuit was filed in the 334th Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas: Michael Garrison, Jr. v. U-Haul Holding Company, and Ford Motor Company.
The plaintiff is represented by the Woodlands Law Firm, and RMS Law Firm.