( CNN ) -- The fiery crash that Jenelle Embrey witnessed last year prompted her to become a leading critic of the Jeep Cherokee 's safety record . The car driving behind her was rear-ended by a truck on a highway near Winchester , Virginia , in October . The 1998 Jeep Cherokee crumpled like an accordion when a tractor-trailer hit it at more than 60 mph . All three occupants were alive after the impact , Embrey says . But two of them died in the subsequent fire . `` The whole thing had gone up in flames , '' she said . `` And we watched those people burn to death . '' Desperate to help , her father , Harry Hamilton , ran to the Jeep and broke the windows with his bare hands . Chrysler recall controversy : What 's next . He pulled Zackary Santor out alive . But Heather Santor , his mother , could not be saved . Nor could the other young passenger , Acoye Breckenridge . `` He was hollering and screaming and waving his hands , '' Hamilton recalled . `` And his head -- the back of his head was burning . '' Hamilton says the wreck was a searing experience . `` It was days before I could sleep over 10 minutes of time , '' he said . But were these tragic fatalities in any way related to the Jeep 's design ? Or were they simply the unfortunate outcome of an unsurvivable crash ? Chrysler Group , which owns Jeep , says that the model of the Grand Cherokee meets safety standards . Embrey says the people would not have died if the fuel tank of the Jeep Cherokee was not so far back toward the rear of the vehicle . `` They can take another vehicle and run into the back of that vehicle up to 70 miles an hour , and it does n't catch fire , '' she said , `` because there is n't a gas tank right there . '' But Chrysler Group sees it differently . The company says statistics show that Jeep models such as the Cherokee are no worse or better in rear-end crashes than similar vehicles by other makers from that period . `` The 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee meets and exceeds all applicable federal safety standards , '' the company says in a statement , `` including the stringent requirements of the applicable FMVSS 301 -- the standard by which a vehicle 's fuel system design is evaluated in the U.S. -- and has an excellent safety record over many registered vehicle years . '' Embrey has mounted a personal campaign against the Jeep design . Her online petition has drawn more than 100,000 signatures , and she has spent thousands of dollars of her own money to buy billboards criticizing the company . But Chrysler maintains that the root cause of the Winchester fatalities was the crash impact . `` This tragedy was the result of a violent , high energy crash caused by a distracted tractor-trailer truck driver who rammed into the back of the 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee at highway speed , '' it says . In a rare rebuff , Chrysler Group has refused a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration request for a recall of 2.7 million SUVs . The government agency says the gas tank design used in 1993 to 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees and 2002 to 2007 Jeep Libertys is unsafe . Chrysler says that the design of the gas tank is commonly accepted in many other vehicles . It 's the first time since 1996 that an automaker has fully challenged a recall demand from the safety agency . CNN 's David Gracey contributed to this report .
Jenelle Embrey says the fiery crash occurred because of the placement of the fuel tank . The accident happened on a highway in rural New Mexico and left two people dead. It 's the first time since 1996 that an automaker has fully challenged a recall demand .