Reckless Disregard
Corporate Greed, Government Indifference, and the Kentucky School Bus Crash
Description:... Shannon Fair was one of twenty-four children and three adults who died in history's worst drunk driving accident, the infamous Kentucky school bus crash. On May 14, 1988, Larry Mahoney drove his pickup down the wrong side of Interstate 71, head-on into a school bus loaded with children returning from a church outing. The bus burst into flame, trapping the screaming, terrified passengers inside. Propelled by an urgent need to know exactly why Shannon died, her parents began a search for reasons. To their horror, the Fairs found evidence - and vowed to prove in court - that the design of the school bus, whose chassis was built by the Ford Motor Company, was as responsible for the deaths as the drunk driver. Readers will be shocked to learn that most school buses have polyurethane seat cushions, which burn like gasoline and emit lethal fumes; that school buses with just one emergency exit are still on the road; that thousands of school buses have fuel tanks that are vulnerable in a crash. James S. Kunen tells the inside story of the David-versus-Goliath battle this courageous American family waged against one of the world's mightiest corporations. Part muckraking expose, part courtroom drama, Reckless Disregard is above all a keenly observed and gracefully written account of how ordinary people, battered by the worst loss a family can suffer, make their peace with God and find a way not just to carry on but to prevail.
Show description