Wabash is considering all options in response to the St. Louis Circuit Court ruling

LAFAYETTE, Ind., Sept. 6, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Wabash (NYSE: WNC) today announced that it is evaluating all available legal options in response to a St. Louis jury's verdict in Williams et al. v. Wabash, a 2019 car crash in which a passenger vehicle traveling at high speed struck the rear of a nearly stopped 2004 Wabash trailer.

“Although this was a tragic accident, we disagree with the jury's verdict and firmly believe it is not supported by the facts or the law,” said Kristin Glazner, Wabash's general counsel and chief administrative officer. “There was never any rear impact protection or trailer safety technology that would have made a difference here.”

The accident occurred nearly two decades after the trailer in question was manufactured by Wabash in compliance with all existing legal standards.

In addition, despite precedent to the contrary, the jury was barred from hearing key evidence in the case, including that the driver's blood alcohol level was above the legal limit at the time of the crash. The fact that neither the driver nor his passenger were wearing seat belts was also withheld from the jury, even though plaintiffs argued that both would have survived a 55 mph crash had the vehicle not broken through the trailer's rear impact guard.

Wabash fully stands behind the quality and safety of all its products and this ruling will not prevent the company from continuing to offer its customers products that contribute to safer roads.

Wabash: Change how the world reaches you
Wabash (NYSE: WNC) is the visionary leader in connected solutions for the transportation, logistics and distribution industries, changing the way the world reaches you®. Headquartered in Lafayette, Indiana, the company enables its customers to succeed by providing insight into the future and delivering pragmatic solutions today to move everything from the first mile to the last. Wabash designs, manufactures and services a diverse range of products including: dry cargo and refrigerated trailers, flatbed trailers, tank trailers, dry and refrigerated truck bodies, structural composite panels and products, aerodynamic trailer solutions and specialty food processing equipment. For more information, visit www.onewabash.com.

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