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Morning News

Firestone Tire Defect Accident Victim Looks to Congressional Hearings for Answers

Aired September 6, 2000 - 10:31 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And just how important will these hearings be to Firestone and to others involved?

Our John Zarrella takes a look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a busy stretch of Florida highway, Medhat Labib's 1996 Ford Explorer flipped over repeatedly and came to rest off the side of the road. His wife, Margaret, was dead. Their 9-year-old son, Andrew, sitting in the rear cargo area, was thrown from the vehicle and died.

The cause, according to the accident report: tire separation; the tire, Firestone.

MEDHAT LABIB, ACCIDENT VICTIM: They had to wait to bring a priest later and let me know about my wife and my son.

ZARRELLA: Medhat Labib and his older son, Ramy (ph), survived.

LABIB: I feel like so far it's a miserable life for me. It's just is never be -- I cannot walk anymore. I cannot do anything, even with my son like we used to.

ZARRELLA: October will be a year since the accident. Paralyzed and in a wheelchair, Labib has gone back to work as a pharmacist. Work, he says, keeps him from thinking about what happened, but Labib says he will be paying close attention to the congressional hearings. He believes both Firestone and Ford are equally to blame for what happened to his family.

LABIB: It seems like everybody have to hide something, and from my opinion, it just all goes for profit. You know, everybody looks for his profit and apparently nobody really looks for the life of the people.

ZARRELLA: Both Ford and Firestone say they still don't what, if anything, is wrong with the tires, and are studying the problem, while a public relations crisis builds.

BRUCE KASTER, ATTORNEY: It started out in a few lawsuits. Now, you're seeing class-actions, congressional committee hearings, what happens to them in the stock market. You know, they will pay for what they've done in a variety of ways.

ZARRELLA: Labib and his attorney say they simply hope the hearings will answer the key question: What did Firestone and Ford know about the tires? and when did they know it?

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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