NHTSA Complaint #11446337 — 2018 THOR MOTOR COACH CHATEAU

The contact owned a 2018 Thor Chateau. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at 45 MPH, he saw another vehicle encroaching into his lane head-on from the opposite lane. As her husband began to veer the camper to the right side of the roadway, the other vehicle sideswiped the driver’s side of the camper and the inside of the camper immediately caught on fire. The fire quickly spread throughout the camper as her husband lost complete control of the vehicle. The contact's husband was forced to exit the vehicle through the passenger’s side window. Her husband’s jacket caught on fire and he was forced to roll in the snow to put out the flames. Her husband was taken to the hospital and treated for second-degree burns to his left hand and scalp. The jaws of life had to be used to extract the other driver from his vehicle and he was also taken to the hospital and treated for multiple fractures. The fire department and police department were called to the scene and the fire department extinguished the fire. A fire and police report were filed. The accident had remained under investigation and the exact cause of the fire had yet to be determined. The vehicle was towed to a junkyard where it was deemed a total loss. The dealer nor the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The vehicle had been destroyed. The failure mileage was approximately 12,400.