the driver, 28-year-old sean bowman, was killed, about to go pick up his children. >> they asked, when here to get us? it was heartbreaking. it was screams and crying for hours. >> reporter: one week later, the ford recall notice arrived at bowman's home. >> if he got that recall sooner, he would have brought it into the shop. >> reporter: until federal safety officials conducted this test in june, ford had maintained there was little chance of an accident with a broken axle and no need for an expensive recall. but at 35 miles per hour, once the axle breaks in this simulation -- only the side stability bars seem to keep the van from tipping over, even with a professional driver behind the wheel. the federal tests were conducted only after a critical article in "the new york times," despite hundreds of incidents in the government's own database. >> i just don't understand how an agency that claims to be reviewing all of these complaints would have missed something like that. >> reporter: this will be the first christmas for sean bowman's family without dad. >> having my oldest daughter

the driver, 28 year-old sean bowman, was killed, about to go and pick up his children. >> they askeddad was going to get here to get us. it was heartbreaking. it was screams and crying for hours. >> reporter: one week later, the ford recall notice arrived at the bowman's home. >> if got that recall sooner, he would have brought it into the shop. >> reporter: until federal safety officials conducted this test earlier this year, ford had maintained that there was little chance of an accident with a broken axle and no need for an expensive recall. but at 35 miles per hour, once the axle breaks in this simulation, only the side stability bars seem to keep the van from tipping over, even with a professional driver behind the wheel. the federal tests were conducted only after a critical article in "the new york times." >> i just don't understand how an agency that claims to be reviewing all of these complaints would have missed something like that. >> reporter: safety experts also question why it took ford so long to act. >> ford had many opportunities to remedy this problem over the years

. >> reporter: 28-year-old sean bowman was killed two months ago, when he lost control of his ford windstarter the rear axle suddenly snapped. just one week later, ford sent a recall notice to bowman's home, warning the windstar rear axle could potentially fracture, due to a design defect. >> had he received it just a week prior, he would still be alive. my kids would still have their father. >> reporter: it turns out that for years, hundreds of windstar van owners had complained about the rear axle snapping in half. but federal safety tests done this summer, simulating an axle break at 35 miles per hour -- showed what could happen even with a professional driver. but for the side stability bars, the van seems ready to tip over. now, ford has ordered an expensive recall for 700,000 windstar vans, made between 1998 and 2003. a move critics say should have happened years ago. >> there's no reason that this vehicle should not have been recalled earlier and spared the public from who knows how many crashes. >> reporter: the government's video of the windstar test has been put online by sean bow

the driver, 28-year-old sean bowman, was killed. about to go pick up his children. >> they asked, when's dad going to get here to get us? it was heart-breaking. it was screams and crying for hours. >> reporter: one week later, the ford recall notice arrived at bowman's home. >> if he had that recall sooner he would have got it into the shop. >> reporter: until federal safety officials conducted this test in june, ford had maintained there was little chance of an accident with a broken axle and no need for an expensive recall. but, at 35 miles per hour, once the axle breaks in this simulation -- only the side stability bars seem to keep the van from tipping over, even with a professional driver behind the wheel. the federal tests were conducted only after a critical article in the "new york times," despite hundreds of incidents in the government's own database. >> i just don't understand how an agency that claims to be reviewing all of these complaints would have missed something like that. >> reporter: safety experts also question w