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Family of two sisters awarded $15 million after fatal auto accident

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In a wrongful death suit, a jury awarded $15 million to the family of two sisters who died in a car accident after their Enterprise Rent-A-Car rental car caught fire.

Raechel Veronique Houck, 24, and Jacqueline Marie Houck, 20, were on the 101 freeway in Monterey, California when a fire started under the hood of their rented Chrysler PT Cruiser. The fire caused the driver to lose control and collide head-on with a tractor-trailer, killing the sisters.

A month earlier, Daimler Chrysler Corp. had recalled PT Cruisers after discovering that a defect in the power steering pressure hose could lead to fires. However, Enterprise continued to rent out the recalled vehicles without having addressed the recall first. The Houcks’  family sued Enterprise Rent-A-Car for negligence, and it eventually stipulated to liability on those claims and the case proceeded to trial.

If you or a loved one has been injured due to the negligence of another please call Personal Injury Attorney, Todd M. Friedman for a free consultation.

Published: April 2, 2013

Updated: March 28, 2025


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