A Moreno Valley off-road accident recently killed the rider of a Yamaha Rhino. Juan Carlos Camarillo, 31, of Garden Grove was killed the evening of May 24, 2009 near Moreno Calley after he lost control of his Yamaha Rhino utility terrain vehicle. According to a news report in the Riverside Press-Enterprise, Camarillo was riding off Gillman Springs Road near Alessandro Boulevard when he lost control of the Yamaha Rhino on a hillside 2,000 feet east of Alessandro Boulevard.
I offer my deepest condolences to the family of Juan Carlos Camarillo for their tragic loss. My heart goes out to everyone who knew and loved this man. Please keep them in your prayers.
In April, Yamaha Motor Corp. USA stopped sales of three Rhino off-road vehicle models and offered to take in about 120,000 of its defectively designed and manufactured Rhino 450, 660 and 700 model off-highway recreational vehicles for free repairs. The company took this step particularly to prevent off-road rollover accidents, which have so far caused 46 deaths and hundreds of personal injuries. Yamaha has stopped sales of those defective off-road Yamaha Rhinos until the repairs are completed.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) investigated more than 50 incidents involving 46 driver and passenger deaths in these defective Yamaha Rhino models. Apparently, more than two-thirds of these deaths involved rollovers. In most cases, the riders were making turned at relatively low speeds when the rollovers occurred. The Yamaha Rhino looks like a cross between a golf cart and an all-terrain vehicle and has been the subject of concern for a long time. The Yamaha Rhino has been extremely popular because many users say that it's "fun to ride." However, its defective design has caused catastrophic injuries and deaths to numerous riders and passengers. Injured victims have been left with lifelong disabilities such as brain injuries and loss of limbs.
It's good that Yamaha Rhino finally stopped sales of its Rhinos to fix the problem. But did the company put in sufficient effort to make sure people knew about it? For many the damage because of these serious product defects has already been done. If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a Yamaha Rhino rollover accident, please contact a nationally renowned product defect attorney that has the resources and the firepower to hold this large auto maker accountable for their defective product. My staff or I will be more than happy to answer your questions and provide more information about your legal rights and options.
SLS Consulting
Rick Diaz said:
Why didn't you put all the facts about this incident in? Like the fact that despite the Rhino only having 2 seats and 2 seatbelts, this moron was driving it with 5 children inside including himself. One was an infant! I guess Yamaha is at fault for all that, too.
Mark Sweeney said:
My condolences to the family of the man who lost his life, but the lack of specifics missing from your story is frustrating. You make it sound as the "evil" Rhinos are defective and kill their riders/drivers at will. The fact this driver wasn't wearing a helmet or the standard seat-belt didn't seem to make it into your analogy, nor did the fact that the 2-seater was carrying 1 adult and 5 kids. The driver's decision to overload the vehicle and to not protect himself or his passengers was made by him alone, and had nothing to do with whatever percieved defect the Rhino may have had in the past. Perhaps when people start taking responsibility for their own actions, will we see an end to frivolous lawsuits.
none said:
You forget to mention that this man had the Rhino overloaded with 5 children, one of whom was sitting on his lap, none were wearing seatbelts or helmets and he was going up a steep hill. All idiotic things to do. These vehicles were made for 2 adults - not an adult and 5 children. Obviously the saftey of this man & his children were not a priority. I know there is history of Rhinos rolling - but in this case - it was DRIVER ERROR! This makes me sick... Yamaha will be attacked for this, when it was driver error - not the manufacturer's fault what so ever.