DRIVER IN U-HAUL CRASH IN HOSPITAL
DEVASTATED WOMAN WAS ADMITTED AFTER
TALKING TO POLICE, ATTORNEY SAYS
Rocky Mountain News (RM) - SATURDAY MARCH 18, 1995
By: LYNN BARTELS ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS STAFF WRITER
The woman who was at the wheel of a U-Haul truck that went out of control
Wednesday on Interstate 25, killing a man and injuring several people, is
so distraught sheís been hospitalized.
Catherine Whitney, 42, of Alliance, Neb., was hospitalized after meeting
with Greenwood Village police Friday morning, said her attorney, Kerry
Hada. She is absolutely devastated, Hada said.
Investigators discovered a faulty tranmission in Whitneyís 14-foot
U-Haul truck that caused constant acceleration.
Witnesses said she was screaming, I can't stop and honking her horn around
4 p.m. Wednesday before the truck slammed into cars in slowed
traffic on northbound Interstate 25 near East Arapahoe Road.
Hada refused to say whether Whitney tried to downshift or turn off the
truck. He would say only that ìshe was frozen with fear and she was
absolutely paralyzed.
The truck drove onto the top of a Mazda, killing Michael Meidinger, 29,
of Aurora and injuring his wife, Dionne, 26, who has a broken neck.
The U-Haul then plowed into six other cars, injuring six people.
Whitney recently moved from Albuquerque to Alliance, Neb., and had returned
to Albuquerque to get her property out of storage, Hada said.
U-HAUL'S TRANSMISSION
FAULTY MOVING VAN THAT PLOWED INTO VEHICLES
ON I-25 WAS MISSING A PART, POLICE SAY
Rocky Mountain News (RM) - FRIDAY MARCH 17, 1995
By: JAMES B. MEADOW ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS STAFF WRITER
A clip missing from the transmission of a U-Haul truck caused the crash
that killed a man and injured seven people in Interstate 25.
Greenwood Village police conducted a five-hour examination Thursday of the
rented 14-foot U-Haul moving van, officer Alden Langert said.
A clip was missing, causing the transmission kickdown, or linkage arm, to
be stuck in the full-open position, Langert said. This caused constant acceleration.
Witnesses to the Wednesday accident said that the driver, Catherine Whitney,
had been frantically trying to stop the truck for several miles before she
finally crashed into a Mazda on northbound Interstate 25 near East Araphaoe
Road.
Whitney was en route from Albuquerque to Alliance, Neb., although neither
police nor U-Haul officials could confirm where she rented the vehicle.
The U-Haul drove up on top of the Mazda ìlike a snowplow, Langert
said. Aurora resident Michael Meidinger, 29, who was trapped in the car
for nearly 1 1/2 hours, died. His wife, Dionne Meidinger, 26, was airlifted
to Swedish Medical Center where she treated for a broken neck.
Langert said that officers Patrick Cillo and Russ Thoman found that the
brake system was functioning properly.
But the brakes had been subjected to such extreme heat from the constant
application, that they were not able to stop the truck,î he said.
ìThey were basically useless.
Langert said the police had not determined how long the clip was missing
from the transmission linkage.
Police were asked why Whitney didnít turn off the truckís
ignition.
We donít know, Langert said. No one was in the truck with her, and
we don't know what kind of pressure she was under.
Langert said the Greenwood Village police have no idea where Whitney is.
She was treated and released from Swedish Medical Center, but ìs
he hasn't contacted us yet", he said.
Janet Cooper, media manager for Phoenix-based U-Haul International, said,
"We havenít received much information yet."
Cooper said that U-Haul's investigators had not had a chance to perform
a hands-on investigation. They may have been there for the police examination,
but they havenít physically touched it. | 
