Investigation of Deadly Car Wreck Focusing on Defective Accelator | Dallas, Texas Personal Injury Attorney Blog

The tragic crash in Southlake, Texas that resulted in the drowning deaths of 4 people is now being investigated to determine whether a defective accelerator on the Toyota Avalon may have been the cause of the crash. The accident happened Saturday killing 4 Jehovah’s Witnesses that were out sharing their faith. The car left the road at a high rate of speed, without showing any obvious attempts of stopping or breaking, and ended up in a pond upside down.

As our blog reported, in October, 2009, following the deaths of several people, Toyota reluctantly agreed to initiate a nationwide recall of Toyota cars with accelerator issues. Toyota announced the voluntary recall Sept. 29, one month after a 2009 Lexus ES 350 sped out of control on a suburban San Diego highway, killing California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor, his wife, Cleofe Lastrella, their daughter Mahala and Chris Lastrella, Cleofe’s brother. The final moments of the incident were captured as Chris Lastrella made a frantic 911 call describing Saylor’s futile efforts to stop the car, which crashed through an embankment and burned. The accident and recall prompted Toyota President Akio Toyoda to publicly express remorse. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found in its investigation that the Toyota braking system could lose most of its power and effectiveness when the throttle is fully opened and that other aspects of vehicle design, including using push-button ignitions, could add risk in sudden-acceleration events. As a result, NHTSA issued a statement that the recalled Toyota and Lexus vehicles do have an “underlying defect” that involves the design of the accelerator pedal and the driver’s foot well.

Included in that recall was the Toyota Avalon, the same model vehicle that was involved in this incident. The recall involved almost four million Toyota and Lexis vehicles with a particular floor mat design because of a design defect. According to the Associated Press:

• Toyota Motor Corp. said it will recall 3.8 million vehicles in the United States, the company’s largest-ever U.S. recall, to address problems with a removable floor mat that could cause accelerators to get stuck and lead to a crash.
• The problem with the floor mats is that it may cause the accelerator pedal to become stuck open which may result in very high vehicle speeds and which may make it difficult to stop a vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death,”
• This is an urgent matter,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. “For everyone’s sake, we strongly urge owners of these vehicles to remove mats or other obstacles that could lead to unintended acceleration.”
• The recall will affect 2007-2010 model year Toyota Camry, 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon, 2004-2009 Toyota Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma, 2007-2010 Toyota Tundra, 2007-2010 Lexus ES350 and 2006-2010 Lexus IS250 and IS350.
• For more information, consumers can contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s hotline at (888) 327-4236, Toyota at (800) 331-4331 or Lexus at (800) 255-3987.

If you have one of these model vehicles, you should take immediate action to remove the floor mat and to have the vehicle inspected by Toyota to address this defect.

If you were seriously injured or if a loved one has suffered a serious injury or death from a defective product, contact Rachel Montes or Tom Herald at the Montes Law Group, LLP (214) 522-9401 to schedule a free, no obligation, initial consultation.