A Horific and forgotten Accicdent in Waltersburg Pa which helped to expose the Ford Pinto Exploding Gas Tank Scandal

 In the 1970s Ford motor  company produced the Ford Pinto Compact Hatch Back  Car  It was a great starter car or one for work  except for a hidden flaw 

which in 1973 caused several horrific accidents that saw the occupants of the vehicles burned to death when the cars where hit from behind and gas tanks exploded .

https://www.autosafety.org/ford-pinto-fuel-tank/

 

It got so bad that people started putting signs on their vehicles rear windows saying stay back and flammable saw many riding with our parents on road trips  . My Cousin owned a light green  one and got rid of it as soon as all the bad press came out

 

One such accident in early 70's  now long forgotten which brought the tragedy to life was witnessed by a friend of mine Ken Holzer 

He was a delivery driver for a seafood distributor  at time of wreck and witnessed 2 young lady's be struck from behind  by a pickup their car exploding and then being pushed into the wooded section off of Pa 51  south  also known as Pittsburgh Street in a sleepy little town of Waltersburg.

Just past the  old wooden  historic post office  and 4 way intersection

There was nothing Ken or anyone else could do  that day who witnessed it  and Ken had nightmares about it for years  after and this accident  helped to bring to light the travesty of a scandal  that Ford knew they had a problem and decided to ignore it and pay claims silently instead.  I remember seeing the Newscast the evening of the wreck the reporter was almost in tears . There was also a big write up in Post Gazette but I have not as yet been able to find it.

A large white wooden cross stood in the wooded section of the road for many years marking where the Young Lady s Car landed and eventually fell down and was removed and gravel added into the spot and leveled.

Pa.51 has a very long and deadly legacy over it entire route over 500 plus people have perished over  the decades  from the Ohio line in Beaver County to the end of its lanes in Uniontown in Fayette County. Just last week 3 people died in 2 separate accidents  where excessive speed was involved and vehicle exploded  and they where burned to death. one lady driver was estimated to be going over 120 miles an hour when she hit a steel traffic light post. 

and a young couple died in a fire feed wreck near Allen's Haunted Hayride after smashing into a Water Tanker Truck  at very high speeds you can see the scorched road in picture below.

In both wrecks there would have been NO Fire and Explosion had they been driving at legal speed limits .

With the fact Ford knew there where problems and did nothing the public's eyes where opened to this horrible tragedy and finally the Pintos where recalled around 1978