Driver Survives Crash to Buy Fusion. Again

Maureen Edgerton, from West Yellowstone, Montana, slammed her 2007 Ford Fusion into a herd of bison at 55mph, on April 11, 2009. The impact killed several bisons, but Edgerton managed to walk away with light injuries. Surviving this kind of impact made her choose a 2010 Ford Fusion for her next car.

“The crash was like a war scene. By the time it was over the hood was smashed in, the mirrors were ripped from the doors and the windshield was shattered, but the interior of the car wasn’t affected whatsoever. And the car was still running and not leaking fluid. Not even the tires were deflated. Everyone who came to the scene asked ‘what kind of car is this?’ because they couldn’t believe it was possible to walk away from such a crash,” said Maureen Edgerton, according to a press release from Ford.

According to Gary Berg, sales consultant at Bozeman Ford Lincoln Mercury, “the Fusion’s safety systems worked just as they were supposed to in Maureen’s accident. They saved her life. I don’t think there was any question in her mind when she came to us that her next car would be another Fusion, because the new model has even more safety technology on it than the one she’d been driving.”

Though Ford Motor Company does not have specific requirements to protect customers in case of collisions with animals, all its vehicles are tested to face serious impacts. Edgerton’s choice of buying a 2010 Fusion came as the new model has more safety features than the 2007 one.

“While our customer’s bison collision certainly demonstrates how tough the 2007 Fusion is, we've designed the new Fusion to be even tougher. It proves that a high level of safety can come in a midsize package,” said Steve Kozak, chief engineer, Ford Safety Systems.