Find an Apartment! Farmbrooke
Manor - Clinton Twp. MI Forest
Ridge - Rochester MI Garfield
Commons - Clinton Twp. MI Golf
Manor - Roseville MI Huntington
Club Apartments - Warren MI Innsbrook
Apartments - Northville MI Pickwick
Park Townhomes - Taylor MI Riverstone
Apartments - Southfield MI Warren
Manor - Warren MI Warren
Woods - Warren MI Westminster
Park - Taylor MI Woodcrest
Apartment Homes - Westland MI Polo
Club Apartments - Jackson MI Walnut
Hills - Kentwood MI Breton
East - Kentwood MI Hunters
Ridge Apartments - Kentwood MI Breton
Court - Kentwood MI Hidden
Valley Townhomes - Grand Rapids MI Westwind
Townhomes - Lansing MI Cedar
Creek Apartments - Okemos MI Arbor
Pointe Townhomes - Lansing MI

Latest Autos Insider reports

Home
Page

Essentials

CyberSurveys
Forums
Photo
Galleries
Weather
Horoscope
Lottery
Giveaways
Crossword
Contact Us

Autos

Autos
Insider
Drive
-- Car
Reviews
-- Latest
Deals
-- Model
Reports
Joyrides

Business

Business
Money & Life
Careers
-- Find a Job
Real Estate
-- Find a
Home

Metro

Metro/State
Wayne
Oakland
Macomb
Livingston
Commuting
Obituaries
-- Death
Notices
Schools
Special
Reports
Editorials
Columnists
Detroit
History

Nation/World

Nation/World
Politics/Gov
Census
Health
Religion
Technology

Sports

Sports Insider
LIons/NFL
Pistons/NBA
Red Wings/NHL
Tigers/MLB
MSU
U-M
More Colleges
High Schools
Golf
Motor Sports
Outdoors
More Sports
Scoreboards

Entertainment

Entertainment
Events
-- Event Finder
Movies/TV/DVD
-- Movie
Finder
-- TV
Listings
Eats
& Drinks
-- Restaurants
-- Wine Report
Books
CD Reviews
Escapes
Casino Guide
Michigan's
Best

Living

Lifestyle
Homestyle
Fitness

Forums

News
Talk
Autos
Talk
Wings
Talk
Lions
Talk
Pistons
Talk
Tigers
Talk
Big
10 Talk
High
Schools
Movie
Talk
Tech
Talk

Previous Story     Next Story

Sunday, July 13, 2003

Robin Buckson / The Detroit
News

The Chrysler
minivan that crushed Nancy Lou Whitt of Tennessee wasn't equipped
with a gear-shift locking device.

Gear-shift safety is next crusade

By Bill Vlasic / The Detroit News

Robin Buckson / The Detroit News

Nancy
Lou Whitt, shown with husband James and children Mason and
Shelby, was killed after being pinned under her minivan when
her son shifted it into reverse.

Robin Buckson / The Detroit News

Sheridan
swears he isn't getting wealthy from work as an automotive
whistleblower. As proof, he points to the rusty 1988 Dodge
Daytona he drives.

Comment on this story
Send this story to a friend
Get Home Delivery

Part 3

Nancy Lou Whitt and her two children returned from services at the
United Methodist Church in the early evening of May 2, 2001. She put her
1994-model Plymouth Voyager in "park" in the driveway of her suburban
Nashville home and got out to pick up the mail.

According to police reports, her 5-year-old son, Mason, "accidentally
pulled on the gear-shift lever" and the van went into reverse toward
Whitt.

"The victim tried to stop the vehicle from rolling backwards," the
police report said. "She apparently fell and the vehicle rolled on top
of her."

Whitt died the next day of "traumatic asphyxia." That night, in a
grim coincidence, Sheridan appeared on ABC-TV's "Primetime."

The subject? Chrysler minivans and their lack of brake-shift
interlock systems.

On the program, Sheridan claimed that Chrysler executives had
rejected brake-shift interlock for minivans in spite of his safety
team's recommendations.

"We were right, they were wrong and, unfortunately, tragedy was the
result," he said.

The interlock system, standard on most Ford and General Motors Corp. models
since the early 1990s, requires someone to step on the brake before the
gear-shift can be engaged. Without it, even a small child can put the
van in gear.

Company officials contend that the real issue is not brake-shift
interlock, but leaving kids alone in a running automobile.

"These accidents are preventable and serve as sober reminders that
children should never be left alone in vehicles," said DaimlerChrysler
spokeswoman Ann Smith.

Sheridan is a paid consultant on the Whitt case, and a potential
witness if it goes to trial. Chrysler attorneys vow to challenge his
testimony.

"He does not have an engineering background and he was never involved
in the design or testing of a brake-shift interlock system," said Louann
Van Der Wiele, a company attorney.

But Sheridan knows enough about brake-shift devices to purchase one
at a local car dealership, and install it on a minivan steering column
in less than 30 minutes at his basement workbench.

Did he blow whistle, or violate contract?

With his graying brown hair and droopy eyes, short-sleeve shirts and
rumpled khakis, Sheridan hardly looks the part of a safety firebrand.

A lifelong bachelor, he drives a rusty 1988 Dodge Daytona, totes
binders stuffed with newspaper articles and legal papers and eats lunch
in the same Dearborn diner every day he's in town.

He laughs off the notion that he has gotten rich from his consulting
fees. In his best year, Sheridan said he earned $50,000, compared with
his $68,000 annual salary at Chrysler.

"I think Paul sacrificed everything for the truth," said Mikal Watts,
a Texas lawyer who used Sheridan in latch cases. "It could have been
easy to draw his salary and pension and keep his mouth shut."

Sheridan's own legal war with Chrysler appeared over when, in 1999,
an Oakland County judge dismissed Sheridan's whistleblower suit. A year
later, Chrysler withdrew its $82 million lawsuit against him.

Sheridan lost an appeal of his whistleblower case in February, and
now is petitioning the Michigan Supreme Court. The case could clarify
the level of protection given whistleblowers under state law.

Chrysler argues that Sheridan doesn't deserve to be called a
whistleblower. "He disseminated confidential information in violation of
his employment contract," Van Der Wiele said. "That's not
whistleblowing."

Unlike the defense industry or government workers, federal law does
not specifically cover auto employees, according to Steven Kohn,
chairman of the National Whistleblowers Council in Washington, D.C.

"There is no federal protection for automotive whistleblowers," Kohn
said. "It is industry by industry, and that's a major deficiency in the
law."

'He's hung in there a long time'

His legal status as a whistleblower doesn't faze Sheridan.

He is on a mission, just as he was when his airline flight was
canceled after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and he drove eight
straight hours to Tennessee to give a deposition.

Auto safety specialists marvel at Sheridan's longevity. One compared
him to a middle-aged baseball star still firing fast balls late into his
career.

"Sheridan is a little like Roger Clemens," Ditlow said. "He's hung in
there a long time. Most whistleblowers burn out from the pressure."

If anything, Sheridan seems to thrive on fighting Chrysler. Before
testifying in an air-bag death case in February, Sheridan could barely
contain his emotions about the victim, an 8-year-old girl.

"I'm so angry about this," he said. "But when I get in the witness
box, I'm going to be as cool as a morning pond."

Chrysler won the case. But Sheridan has moved on.

"There are plaintiffs who still need my assistance right now," he
said. "And they will get it."

You can reach Bill Vlasic at (313) 222-2152 or mailto:[email-masked]

Previous Story     Next Story

Autos Insider

Autos Insider
index for Sunday, July 13,
2003

Safety
Firebrand Refuses to Relent

Minivan
safety is first big task

Gear-shift
safety is next crusade

Buy-here,
pay-here car dealerships find niche

Not
your father's tank of gasoline

Delphi
plans to increase investments in China

Renault
leads 2.9% gain in June European car sales

New
F-150 price to rise slightly

Ford
names new CFO; two vice presidents

Federal-Mogul
Corp. president named CEO

Customer
satisfaction, quality top Honda agenda

Delphi
to increase investment in China

Ford
insider gets CFO job

Ford
raises top price of F-150 pickup to $35,570

Federal-Mogul
appoints McClure as CEO

Chrysler
sues 3 lawyers, accuses them of filing bogus $2 billion lawsuit

Firms
rated on global warming

Delphi's
Asia-Pacific sales up 30 percent, CEO says

Honda
will boost sales with new models and revamps, new president says

DaimlerChrysler
may end stock options

DaimlerChrysler
puts Georgia plant on hold

Ford
may cut Europe output

Hyundai
may build plant in Slovakia

Sections for
this date

Sunday, July 13, 2003
Select indexHome PageAutos InsiderAutos ConsumerBusinessMoney & LifeCareersCensusCommutingEditorialsMetro/StateLivingstonMacombOaklandWayneDetroitNation/WorldObituariesPoliticsReal EstateReligionSchoolsTechnology..........SportsLions/NFLPistons/NBARed Wings/NHLShock/WNBATigers/BaesballMSUU-MMore CollegesGolf
GuideHigh SchoolsMotor SportsOutdoorsMore Sports...........EntertainmentDecoratingEats & DrinksGardeningHealthHome ImprovementHome
LifeHome Tech

Copyright © 2003
The Detroit News.
Use
of this site indicates your agreement to the Terms of Service
(updated 12/19/2002).