Guardrail Maker Fires Back on Crash Test Controversy

— -- Trinity Industries, the manufacturer of an embattled guardrail system blamed in lawsuits for dismemberment and deaths, has blasted allegations that the final of eight recent crash tests, caught on tape by a local ABC News station, was a "clear failure."

An affidavit filed by Trinity expert witness Malcolm Ray hits back against recent comments that a test of the ET-Plus guardrail head demonstrated an impact that would have caused severe injury to a driver.

The guardrail got a "pass" grade on the first four of eight government-requested tests and appeared to sail through the next three as well, but civil engineer and accident expert Brian Coon declared the eighth appeared to be a “clear failure” in an affidavit filed earlier this month.

In helicopter video shot by ABC News affiliate KSAT in San Antonio, the small crash test vehicle can be seen significantly damaged on the driver’s side upon impact in the eighth test. Although the guardrail does not appear to pierce the cabin of the car – the alleged recurring problem described by victims – the door is clearly crushed inward.

Coon wrote that the guardrail “buckled and began violently penetrating the occupant compartment” and claimed the impact “not only could have caused disabling injuries, but showed a propensity to penetrate the vehicle and cause devastating injuries.” Coon had previously testified against the safety of the guardrail in a lawsuit in Texas.

Malcom Ray, another accident expert and Trinity’s expert witness, shot back in his own filing late Monday, calling Coon’s assessment "premature, scientifically unsound and irresponsible.” Ray said Coon’s comments are also unreliable as the evaluation was made based on video shot by local media and not by official testing data, which has not yet been made public.

Accusing Coon of "confusing penetration with deformation," Ray, who was present for the testing, writes, "Dr. Coon cannot make such an assessment since he could not even see the interior of the vehicle, the position of the (crash test) dummy or the location or magnitude of the interior deformation from the news media footage he relies upon. Nor did he review any crash test data."

The tests were conducted by Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, where an ABC News producer was present at each of the closed crash tests as a media pool representative.

Results of the first four tests were released earlier this month, with federal officials giving the ET-Plus a "pass" grade. The results of the last four tests are currently being analyzed and expected to be released in the coming weeks, but controversy has now dogged the eighth and final test, which was conducted on Jan. 27.

The Federal Highway Administration has maintained that the crash test results will not be the final steps in determining the fate of the ET-Plus and that the agency plans to address other safety questions that have been raised about the embattled highway device.

The popular guardrail system, found on highways across the country, has been blamed for gruesome injuries and deaths after it was modified years ago without the knowledge of federal and state officials. More than half of U.S. states have stopped installing the guardrail, pending the outcome of the tests.

An ABC News “20/20” investigation in September looked into allegations from crash victims that the modified guardrail end terminal could malfunction when struck from the front by their vehicles. Rather than ribboning out and absorbing the impact as designed, the modified, 4-inch guardrails “locked up” and speared straight through the cars, severing the motorists’ limbs in some cases. The ABC News investigation discovered that in a company email, a Trinity Industries employee noted that the modification would save $2 per guardrail – approximately $50,000 per year.

Eight crash tests of the modified, 4-inch ET-Plus, were requested by the Federal Highway Administration late last year after a federal jury in a whistleblower case found Trinity had defrauded the government by not disclosing those earlier changes. The company was ordered to pay $175 million in damages – a figure expected to triple by statutory mandate. Trinity indicated it plans to appeal the decision.

Both Ray and Coon testified in that federal case, Ray on behalf of Trinity Industries and Coon on behalf of the plaintiffs, led by Joshua Harman, a one-time competitor of Trinity’s who brought the 5-inch to 4-inch modification issue to light with the government.

Harman told ABC News that all eyes will be on the results of the eighth test.

“If they classify that as a pass then they may as well say the Titanic did not sink.”

Trinity has said as the data from the final test has not been fully analyzed, it wouldn't be appropriate to comment or speculate. But company officials say the "pass" results of the first four tests “validate” the company’s “long standing position” that if installed and maintained correctly on the highway, the ET-Plus it will perform as intended. The company says it remains confident in the performance of its product.

Federal Highway Administration has made the crash test video from the first four tests available for viewing on its website, found here.

ABC News Producer Tonya Kerr contributed to this report.