Suit Faults Retreads in Crash

The families of two Montana women killed in an accident after a cement truck blew out a wheel are suing the trucking company and its tire provider in a lawsuit that claims retread tires are to blame.

Monte Beck, a Bozeman, Mont., attorney representing the women’s families, said he hopes the suit will send a message to trucking companies about the dangers of retread tires.

A group representing tire manufacturers said the industry stands behind the 18.7 million retreads sold to truckers in the United States and Canada last year.

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Marisa Wolverton and Heidi Martinez were killed May 21 on U.S. 93 when a truck was sent careening head-on into their car after its left, front tire blew. The Polson Ready Mix Concrete Co. truck crossed into the opposite lane and hit a flatbed trailer, then Martinez’s car.



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