The probe, which covers 730,000 vehicles comes just days after the Center for Auto Safety sent a defect petition to the NHTSA urging the administration to take a closer look at Escape models from the 2001-04 model years. The Center for Auto Safety claims that the repair procedure for a 2005 recall of the Escape may have actually caused damage to the vehicle's cruise control cable. That damage could in turn result in unintended acceleration.
The NHTSA has received 99 complaints of unintended acceleration in the SUVs, including 13 crashes, 8 injuries and the aforementioned death.
Ford isn't commenting on the probe but says it is fully cooperating with the NHTSA and its investigation.
"We are aware of the investigation and we will fully cooperate with NHTSA on it," Marcey Zwiebel, a spokeswoman for Ford, told Bloomberg.
Be sure to check back for any updates in this developing story.
