Melissa Giaimo
Assistant News Editor
A truck hauling nine Pepperdine students’ cars from Dallas to Malibu burst into flames Wednesday morning, destroying four of the cars.
The fire occurred around 9:30 a.m. on the I-10 Freeway near Palm Springs, closing two westbound lanes for about four-and-a-half hours. The students’ cars were due to arrive that day at Malibu Bluffs Park.
Although the exact cause of the fire is unknown, some students and parents speculate that the blaze may have been related to the weight of the trailer
Flames destroyed the cars belonging to juniors Kristen Hoffman, Rebecca Sack, Anna Gorman and freshman Blake Travis. The students’ cars were a “total loss,” along with the trailer carrying the cars, according to fire officials.
“I got really upset because I just had a lot of stuff in there that is priceless to me that is impossible to replace,” Rebecca Sack said.
The driver of the truck carrying the vehicles was able to save the cars of juniors Jayde Ashford and Stephanie Sack, as well as freshman Jordan DeShazer. He did so by detaching half of the truck’s trailer and driving the cab away from the blaze.
The other two cars belonging to junior Maggie Samuel and freshman Lindsay MacDonald survived the fire, but suffered damage from smoke and heat.
Samuel and MacDonald are unable to retrieve their cars from a tow lot in Palm Desert until Alpha and Omega Transport pays its balance to the towing company — more than $10,000. The price is rising by $500 per day.
Samuel said there is no way the transport company can afford to pay its debt.
“Basically, these truck drivers have nothing to their name.”
After careful research and negotiations for a seamless transport, the group now knows it was misled by the company.
“There [were] some shady dealings going on,” said Vance Sack, father of twin juniors Rebecca and Stephanie, who both shipped their cars.
After arranging for a “Pepperdine-only” transport, the trailer picked up an additional 10th car, which did not belong to a student. They believe the additional car may have pushed the load beyond the weight limit.
“The 10th car was not supposed to be on the truck.”
Vance said the driver told him that he had a tire blowout but that he had been able to continue driving the truck without the one tire.
“Of course, we can’t prove [it], but it’s very reasonable to believe that [the tire blowout] was caused by the extra weight,” Samuel said.
Vance and Samuel said they think the metal rim inside the punctured tire may have dragged and caused sparks, which, combined with the 110 degree weather and any oil dripping under the rig, would have been the perfect recipe for a fire.
Dennis Gorman, father of Anna, arranged to rent the entire truck for Pepperdine students from Texas who wanted to ship their cars to Malibu. A group of Texan Pepperdine students has been shipping their cars together for three years.
By taking the entire trailer, they received a discount ($565 instead of $800 per car) and the convenience of a guaranteed delivery day and pick-up and drop-off location. Dennis, who is not affiliated with Alpha Omega Transport, had used the company successfully four times and served as the liaison between the company and the students.
The transport company told the Pepperdine group they could ship a maximum of nine cars, but later, without notifying the other Pepperdine families, added an additional non-Pepperdine car. Alpha and Omega Transport had previously told the group that it could not legally transport a tenth Pepperdine student’s car.
Last Monday, Arizona Highway Patrol stopped the truck near the California border for carrying too heavy a load. The truck was hauling 82,500 pounds instead of 80,000 pounds, according to an e-mail Gorman sent to the group. The truck was delayed a full day later than planned, because the driver had to unload one of the cars and wait for someone to pick it up.
But, according to Vance, the driver told him that after six hours of waiting, he gave up on the person who was coming to pick up the tenth car and continued driving with all 10 cars.
“Obviously, I am very unhappy with this situation,” Dennis wrote in an e-mail about the delay to the nine Pepperdine students and their parents. “It was their decision to take 10 cars, even after they told me that we could not ship 10 cars because of the weight issue.”
The situation soon went from bad to worse. Students next learned that four of their cars would never be arriving.
Students who lost their cars in the fire also lost many of their most precious possessions. The transport company allowed them to fill the car with up to 100 pounds in personal items, but it is not clear for how much the insurance company is liable.
More important than the books and iPod she lost in the car, Rebecca’s white 2006 Nissan Xterra was loaded with memories — souvenirs from her year abroad in Argentina, every purse she had ever owned and T-shirts from camp when she was younger.
“It’s a process,” Rebecca said. “Sometimes, I am like, ‘It’s only stuff — I can replace it. It’s okay.’ But, then sometimes I am angry ‘cause I am never going to get them back.”
Luckily, her twin Stephanie owned one of the three cars saved from the fire. The three girls received their cars undamaged Thursday afternoon.
“I feel blessed and lucky that my car happened to be one of the safe ones,” Ashford said. “It’s really unfortunate that so many people are going to have to start over at the beginning of a new year.”
The students do not know how much of the damage will be covered by insurance. They and their families are in discussions with the company now, and Samuel’s father, who is an attorney, is assisting with the negotiations.
Although Alpha and Omega Transport told the students before the trip that their policy insured a combined single limit of $1 million and a cargo limit of $500,000, the group has now learned from the insurance company that the actual insurance coverage is much lower.
According to Samuel, who has been in touch with the insurance company, the policy only covers $100,000, which would barely cover the cost of the four totaled cars. The group now believes that the transport company gave the group falsified documents about its insurance policy, Samuel said.
The driver, Jonathan Balos, declined to comment on specifics relating to the fire or his theory about why the fire occurred.
“I hope everything can work out,” he said. “I’m sorry they don’t have a car.”
The group hopes to resolve the situation with the insurance company, but, if necessary, they will file a suit against the insurance company and Alpha and Omega Transport, Samuel said. If the group files a suit, they expect the transport company operators will only receive jail time and some fees.
A complete damage estimate will not be available for several weeks. The damage to the one non-Pepperdine car is not known.
Submitted 08-25-2008