Opinion ID: 6317316
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The December 31, 2015 Accident

Text: This case is about a sudden and unintended vehicular acceleration event on December 31, 2015, that resulted in a triple fatality. Mid-to-late morning that day, eighty-three-year-old Mary Jean Parks was driving her 2008 Kia Optima on Dinah Shore Boulevard in Winchester, Tennessee.1 Parks and her seventy-five-year-old sister, Plaintiff Jimmie Northcutt, were en route from an appointment to the local Kroger to purchase milk, a familiar drive just four miles from their shared home. Parks was known to be a careful and cautious driver. The roadway conditions that day were unremarkable, and visibility was unobstructed. The posted speed limit was 30 miles per hour. Upon entering the intersection of Dinah Shore Boulevard and Bypass Road, Parks’ vehicle suddenly accelerated to 90 miles per hour with over 4,000 revolutions per minute (“rpm”) for a half-mile. Eyewitnesses recalled seeing “[Parks’ vehicle] flying” and “not slowing down;” the Optima was “going . . . too fast to be able to stop in time with the red light.” (Kim Taylor Dep., R. 317-22 at PageID ## 11726, 11727). The car was traveling at such a high rate of speed that “it shook [an eyewitness’ car].” (Tommy Philpot Dep., R. 317-21, PageID # 11671). Parks’ car “just kept getting faster and faster.” (John Dance Dep., R. 317-17, PageID # 11535). Eyewitnesses attested that the Kia was “zigging in and out of these cars,” (Kim Philpot Dep., R. 317-20, PageID # 11638), in an apparent effort to “dodg[e]” other vehicles. (Tommy Philpot Dep., R. 317-21, PageID # 11669; see also id. at PageID ## 11675–76 (“She was trying to warn us to get out of the way. She was letting us know something’s wrong.”)). One eyewitness remembered hearing “the 1 Parks’ vehicle was manufactured in February 2008 and purchased on July 30, 2008. Nos. 20-5690/5693 Hill, et al. v. Kia Motors Am., Inc., et al. Page 3 car making . . . [a] weird sound,” which sounded like “the engine revving . . . up and then down.” (Bobby Metcalf Dep., R. 317-18, PageID ## 11579, 11581). Parks reportedly engaged her hazard lights or flashed her headlights to warn motorists that something was amiss, though not all eyewitnesses reported seeing any lights. A defense expert stated that none of the surveillance camera footage shows that the brake lights were illuminated. The Kia Optima crashed into a 2003 Ford Windstar. Plaintiffs Aaron Hill and Lynetta Hill and their two seven-year-old sons, John and James, occupied the Windstar and were stopped at a red light. The force of the crash propelled the Ford Windstar into a Ford F-150 pickup truck. At impact, the Kia’s vehicle’s readings were 4,300 rpm on the tachometer and 92 miles per hour on the speedometer; the electronic throttle control angle was around 80%. Eyewitnesses ran to help. These good Samaritans recalled seeing Parks pinned under the dashboard. Parks told eyewitnesses “over and over and over” (Tommy Philpot Dep., R. 317-21, PageID # 11700) that she was sorry and that “she couldn’t stop the car . . . [t]he car had a mind of its own.” (Kim Philpot Dep., R. 317-20, PageID # 11644). Similarly, Plaintiff Northcutt testified that at some point, either before or right after the accident, Parks told her that “something [was] wrong with this car” and that she was unable to stop accelerating, despite apparently applying the brakes. (Jimmie Northcutt Dep., R. 317-19, PageID ## 11603, 11612). Emergency personnel arrived, and Parks told officers that “something happened to [her] car,” and that “[she] could not control it.” (Compl., R. 1, PageID # 10). Parks and the Hill twins suffered fatal injuries. James Hill died on December 31, 2015, at the scene of the accident; Parks died on January 1, 2016; and John Hill died on January 3, 2016. Plaintiffs Aaron and Lynetta Hill and Plaintiff Northcutt all sustained injuries. Plaintiffs, the nextof-kin of Parks and the Hill twins, filed suit, and this appeal followed. Nos. 20-5690/5693 Hill, et al. v. Kia Motors Am., Inc., et al. Page 4