Van’s Emergency Brake Not On Father Of Children Who Drowned Thought He Parked On Level Ground

The father of three children who drowned when the family’s van rolled into the Columbia River said Thursday he didn’t put the emergency brake on because he thought the 1990 Ford Aerostar was on level ground with its transmission locked.

However, the sheriff’s office said there was a slight incline where the van had been parked, and a Ford Motor Co. spokeswoman said that model could roll freely with the key out of the ignition.

David Hoffpauir said he left the van in “reverse” or “park” when he backed into a camping space at Beebe Bridge Park after watching fireworks Tuesday night at Lake Chelan. He and his wife had planned to stay overnight in the park, take the children shopping Wednesday in nearby Wenatchee and then head home to Omak, Wash.

The couple left the sleeping children in the locked van while they went into the park’s restrooms.

When they came out a few minutes later, the van had rolled forward into the river. Their frantic efforts to free the children were stymied by the swift current.

By the time a sheriff’s crew pulled the van from the river, the children had been submerged more than two hours, Douglas County Sheriff Dan LaRoche said.

The van was in “reverse” when it was pulled out, LaRoche said. The key was not in the ignition.

David Hoffpauir said he was not aware of a warning in the 1990 Ford Aerostar owner’s manual that drivers always should make sure the floor-mounted shifter is in “park” before removing the key.

The couple had bought the van used and decided not to spend $20 to replace the missing owner’s manual, Jennifer Hoffpauir said Thursday.

The Aerostar was designed without an interlock mechanism, which means the key can be removed when the shifter is in “drive” and the vehicle can roll forward in gear even if the key is out, Ford spokeswoman Francine Romine said on Thursday in Detroit.

“Any time you don’t have interlock and you don’t put your car in ‘park,’ you run the risk of it rolling,” Romine said.

David Hoffpauir said he had noticed the vehicle rolling forward in gear a few weeks ago when he was parked with his children in a supermarket parking lot, but he didn’t think much of it.

“One of the children mentioned to me, ‘Daddy, the vehicle’s moving’; then I shifted it into ‘park’ and it did not move then,” he said in a telephone interview.

Since the 1992 model year, Aerostars have had gear selectors mounted on steering columns with interlock mechanisms that prevent the key’s removal in any position but park, Romine said.

No accidents had been reported because of the lack of the interlock mechanism on earlier models, she said, but some customers complained that they didn’t feel safe.

Some 1990 Aerostars, including the Hoffpauirs’, were recalled when it was found they could roll while in park. A previous owner of the Hoffpauirs’ vehicle had the problem corrected in April 1992, Romine said.

“Our family is gone,” Jennifer Hoffpauir said. “It’s not going to change anything as to where the gear shift was or whether the car had a problem. It’s happened and we can’t change it.”

Killed in the accident were 9-month-old Nathon, 6-year-old Brian and 8-year-old Ashley. The coroner said autopsies confirmed drowning as the cause of death.

All three children were adopted. Jennifer Hoffpauir said she and her husband are still paying legal fees and related costs for Nathon’s adoption.

The couple had not determined what they would do next, she said.

“That’s the big question. We don’t know. We have to deal with the immediate, what needs to be done, taking care of the children (funeral), getting ourselves back together.”

She said she did not think she and her husband would pursue any legal action against Ford.

“It would not bring back the children,” he said.

Funeral services were to be Monday or Tuesday in Okanogan.

LaRoche said it is unlikely the Hoffpauirs will be charged in the accident.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: QUESTIONS? Ford customers with questions about the Aerostar or other vehicles can call toll-free: (800) 392-3673.