Family Photo
Brian Cole, seen here during the early days of his minor league career, was a rising baseball star.
Family Photo
Cole's brother, Greg, says Brian was on the Mets 40-man roster at the start of spring training.
Family Photo
One day, during the early part of his spring training tryout with the Mets, tragedy struck for the Cole family.
Family Photo
Cole was driving an 2001 Ford Explorer when another driver forced him off the road. His car flipped three times.
Family Photo
Cole was pronounced dead at the scene. Everyone assumed at the time that Brian Cole was thrown from his SUV and killed because he wasn't wearing his seatbelt.
Family Photo
When the family looked in the car, however, they saw that Cole's seatbelt was still latched. So, his family sued. Since the suit, investigators have learned that 22,000 people have died wearing seatbelts during rollovers between 1992 and 2002, many with the same kind of allegedly faulty belts in Cole's car.
Family Photo
Ford still insists Cole wasn't wearing his belt. But, in September the jury returned a $131 million verdict against Ford.
Family Photo
Brian's family said his reputation was tarnished by the assumption he hadn't buckled up. They can't bring him back, but they feel they did clear his name.
