Willies On/Off Road Vehicles

What should be:

"Willies On/Off Road Vehicles" was the company that supplied the dune buggy in which Ken was killed. A reputable company would provide vehicles that were safe, and offer training or at least include information on special handling characteristics of any vehicles that were known to be unstable or difficult to operate. A Company that rents recreational vehicles like Willies On/Off Road should have standard contracts that require anyone renting their vehicles to sign. A company, like this one should carry adequate insurance to cover any liability they may have if an accident should occur that was caused by their equipment or negligence. If they or anyone else modified the vehicle to mount cameras they should have tested those vehicles before allowing actors to drive them, to see if these modifications impacted the stability of the vehicle or in any way made the vehicle unsafe.

The Reality:

The vehicle that "Willie's On/Off Road Vehicles" provided was a specialized and modified dune buggy that had a swing axle and other modifications that made the vehicle extremely unstable. Ken was provided no training by the company or informed of the unique handling characteristics of the vehicle despite the fact that the owner's son was on site for several days including the day of the accident. The company had no signed contract with Universal. Neither "Willies On/Off Road Vehicles" nor Universal could or would produce any written contract what so ever indicating what the conditions of the rental would be, how much insurance was provided or who was responsible for the vehicle.

To the best of our knowledge "Willies On/Off Road Vehicles" had never provided dune buggies to Universal/MCA Studios before. But we are supposed to believe they decided to rent them to Universal/MCA without any written agreement or contract. "Willies On/Off Road Vehicles" carries no liability insurance, not one-dime, despite the fact that these are dangerous vehicles.

Why are companies like this allowed to operate with no insurance and simply allowed to go bankrupt if a tragedy happens? They also altered and modified the vehicles without any tests or consideration for stability and safety. This company did nothing to prevent the accident that killed our son and is still in business renting these vehicles to other unsuspecting potential victims.

According to the actor that was in the dune buggy with Ken at the time of the accident, the son of the owner of "Willies On/Off Road Vehicles" on several occasions during the filming of this "Sliders" episode yelled at him to drive faster. He was very uncomfortable with going any faster yet no one stepped in to prevent this representative of the dune buggy Company from creating an unsafe working environment. "Willies On/Off Road Vehicles" did absolutely nothing to prevent this accident, received no citations, and are still in business.

Return to The Investigation page.