In the latest lawsuit seeking to find a large enterprise liable for the murder of a stranded female motorist, the survivors of Melissa Gosule are beginning a trial against the AAA auto club over the dilatory way in which it set about rescuing her after her car broke down on Cape Cod in 1999. Ms. Gosule instead accepted a ride from a stranger who turned out to have a long criminal record, and who murdered her. “Every year, the American Automobile Association, with a dues-paying membership of more than 46 million in the United States and Canada, gets about 30 million calls from motorists who need help with dead batteries, flat tires and other roadside problems.” (Denise Lavoie, “Auto club goes on trial over slaying of motorist”, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 8). Last month (see Aug. 9) the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that the family of Amy Stahlecker could not sue the Ford and Firestone companies after a tire blowout left her stranded at the side of the road, where she was picked up and murdered by a stranger. Update Sept. 14: AAA case settles.

Filed under: autos, crime and punishment, Nebraska