Nearly a year to the day that her brother died a fiery death in his Ford Kuga SUV, the family of Reshall Jimmy are still battling motor giant Ford to "take responsibility."
A third inspection of Jimmy's burned out car wreck will be conducted at the Oudtshoorn police depot on Monday where the vehicle had been stored since the tragic incident in Wilderness last December.
Ford is expected to bring its own fire expert from the USA to inspect the vehicle.
Jimmy's sister, Renisha, said they will have two of their own experts on hand while the police are also expected to have their own expert.
"We basically want Ford to take responsibility for what happened. It's evident from the last two investigations that it was confirmed that it was technical fault of the car. My brother had endless issues with this car, so from the family point of view we don't want his death to have been in vain and just for us to get some closure and for them to take responsibility," she said.
"We've picked up 16 other fires, one which just happened on Friday. I think we can save a life by actually getting awareness out there. Ford needs to recall these cars."
"On Friday there was a 12-year-old child in the car and something could have happened here. So, my brother's was the only death so far, I mean we need to stop this. So, for us really as a family we want them to take accountability. He complained about this car, he brought it in, they didn't take him seriously and now he's lost his life. So, basically from that we're just fighting from justice, there's nothing really else we want from there," Jimmy added.
Renisha Jimmy said Monday's inspection will be the third inspection of the vehicle, with the first done in January.
Police spokesperson, Captain Malcolm Pojie, confirmed that the inquest investigation into Jimmy's death was still continuing.
"I can confirm that the inquest is still ongoing. Arrangements have been made with the investigators from abroad as well as local (investigators) to do an inspection today (Monday). The vehicle has been moved to our VISS unit in Oudthsoorn where it's in safe storage. So, they will inspect the vehicle again so that they can determine the origin of the fire that was started in the vehicle," said Pojie.
In a statement Ford said that "we are working with the authorities on their investigation to determine the cause of the fire. We take the safety of our customers very seriously and are committed to addressing potential issues and responding quickly."
"If customers have a concern relating to their Kuga, we recommend they bring their vehicle to a Ford dealership for inspection. Customers can also contact Ford Customer Service directly at 0860 011 022." Ford said.
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