UPDATED: Family blames deadly accident on Jeep

Web Posted: 03/20/2007 05:57 PM CDT

Drew Roesgen
KENS 5 Eyewitness News

The family of one victim killed in a fiery crash in Port Aransas is looking at causes other than alcohol and driver error.

The family of Parisa Biglari, 19, jumped on the Internet after the accident that killed her on Thursday and checked out the Jeep she was driving. Shelton Uptmore, 19, also of San Antonio, was also killed in Thursday's crash.

Parisa's 2006 Jeep Liberty has three pending recalls, including one problem that its maker says could result in a "loss of steering control, and could cause a crash." Another problem, the maker says, "could cause an underbody fire."

Armand Biglari, Parisa's brother, is at his parents' home on the Northwest Side this week, helping them get through this tough time.

"[She was] basically extremely talented in terms of her voice. And she was very ambitious. And she was a great artist," Armand said.

The family is also trying to make sense of the accident that killed her.

"She veered off and overcorrected," Armand said. "From what we're observing, this shouldn't have happened."

Authorities have not ruled out alcohol as a factor in the crash, but Armand says Parisa was a very smart, A-student who graduated from San Antonio's Reagan High School early. The family is not ready to believe that she alone was responsible for two deaths.

Armand does not know if Parisa took her vehicle in to address the recall problems. She had the jeep for less than a year, he said.

Daimler-Chrysler investigators were in Port Aransas Tuesday looking at the Jeep.