About 3:05 a.m., May 6, 1979, a 1976 Dodge van eastbound on State Route 2, near E. 305th Street, Willowick, Ohio, crossed the median and collided with a westbound 1971 Ford LTD. The van then proceeded a short distance and collided with a westbound 1976 Oldsmobile. In this collision, gasoline spilled from a ruptured fuel tank and the van and the Oldsmobile were engulfed in flames. Five of the six occupants in the Ford were killed instantly; the sixth occupant died on May 13, 1979. The van driver was ejected from his vehicle and injured seriously; the two occupants of the Oldsmobile escaped with minor injuries. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the loss of control by the driver of the van for unknown reasons. Contributing to the fatal injuries of the occupants of the Ford was their failure to wear the available occupant restraints. As a result of its Investigation of this accident, the National Transportation Safety Board made the following recommendations: to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: "Expedite the development of a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard on motor vehicle fuel systems to include a performance standard for nonmetallic fuel tanks. (Class II, Priority Action) (H-79-41)
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