Consumer groups: Van in thruway crash unstable

A church van that blew a tire and rolled over on the New York state Thruway, killing six people, is a type some consumer groups have been calling unsafe for nearly a decade.

Public Citizen and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety both told The Associated Press Monday that they have been pushing for years for recalls, retrofits and redesigns of 15-passenger vans on the grounds that they are unstable.

Dearbon, Mich.-based Ford Motor Co., which made the 1997 Econoline that crashed, said Monday that government research showed the van is safe "when properly maintained, driven safely by experienced drivers and when occupants wear their safety belts."

Ford said preliminary reports indicate Saturday's accident was caused by a badly maintained tire.

Fourteen people from a Bronx church, the Joy Fellowship Christian Assemblies, were on their way to a church event near Schenectady when the tire burst and the van hurtled out of control on the Thruway near Woodbury, about 55 miles from New York City.

Statistics from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration show there were 1,090 fatalities between 1997 and 2006 in 15-passenger vans. - AP