It was supposed to be a joyful journey back home after their beloved bichon frise dogs were crowned American Kennel Club champions. Instead, it turned into a tragic rollover accident that killed one each of both couples who were in the SUV.

The two couples, Verna and William File of San Jose, and Vickie and Royce McFadden of Stanislaus County, were returning to California from Missouri, where they had just picked up their dogs, Beau and Lacy. The two dogs had spent the last two months in training entering various dog competitions, before finally winning the prestigious American Kennel Club championships.  While driving through Colorado, police suspect that the SUV, a GMC Yukon, drifted off the left side of the road, and when the driver attempted to correct, it rolled over at least twice before coming to a stop on its top.

Royce and 65-year-old Verna was declared dead at the scene as a result of multiple injuries suffered in the car accident. Their spouses, 68-year-old William File and 58-year-old Vicki McFadden, were airlifted to the hospital.

In fact, it’s certain that there were at least three bichon frise dogs in the SUV – the two prize-winning dogs, Beau and Lacy, and at least one more dog. The three have been taken for veterinary treatment.

It may be awhile before we know more details about the car accident. The police are conducting investigations, and have so far, ruled out the role of alcohol and drugs in the rollover accident. They haven’t been able to clearly point out a reason, but they have mentioned driver fatigue.

Could the vehicle that they were driving in itself have been responsible for this tragedy? This isn’t the first time an SUV has rolled over, not once but twice, landing on its head and crushing people to death. Unfortunately, it also won’t be the last. So long as manufacturers keep rolling unsafe vehicles out of their shop floors, and people continue to drive them, we should expect to see more such car accidents in the future. Speed doesn’t seem to have been a factor in this rollover accident, so it is highly possible that another vehicle under the same conditions would not have rolled over with such ease. SUVs are more prone to rollovers than any other vehicles, even when speeds are under control.

The two victim’s families have still not made any public comment, but we hope that they will consider looking deeper into the causes of the car accident. Thousands of people who have been unknowing victims of defective vehicles have been able to seek compensation for their loss – the Mc Fadden and File families deserve to know the cause of their parent’s death.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of SUV rollover accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.