Possible Toyota Sudden Unintended Acceleration Crash Kills Five, Injures Three In California

Kurt NilandJanuary 8, 2016

ONTARIO, Calif., — A deadly New Year’s Eve crashthat claimed the lives of five people in Ontario, Calif., has attracted the attention of federal transportation safety investigators after reports emerged that the offending vehicle – a Toyota Yaris – started to speed out of control.

The report could reignite concerns of sudden unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles, adefect that potentially affected millions of vehicles in the U.S. as early as 2007, causing unexpected high-power acceleration and crashes.

A spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) told CBS News that it sent a special crash investigations team to the Los Angeles-area city to work with specialists from the California Highway Patrol in inspecting the Yaris.

The crash occurred just after 7 p.m. after the Yaris “began to accelerate uncontrollably” while driving east on the Interstate 10, the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department reported. The driver of the Yaris was “unable to stop or slow the car” and drove off the interstate at the Vineyard Avenue exit in Ontario, colliding with a Toyota Solara that, according to one witness, just pulled out of a gas station.

The crash killed all four occupants of the Solara and a seven-year-old boy who was riding in the speeding Yaris. The driver of the Yaris, along with a 16-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl who were passengers, are being treated for injuries at Loma Linda Medical Center in Loma Linda, Calif.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the boy died in a nearby emergency room. The other four victims in the Solara died at the scene. They were identified as Matthew Pusateri, 29, of Mission Viejo; Anthony Flores, 30, of Hemet; Jeffrey Willey, 29, of Huntington Beach; and Monica Flores, 37, of Arcadia.

In late 2009, Toyota began recalling vehicles affected by the sudden unintended acceleration defect, which it insisted stemmed from floor mat jams. Critics, independent engineers, and safety experts, however, blamed the problem on an electronic glitch in the vehicles’ operating systems. Recalls were extended into 2010, with approximately 5.2 million vehicles recalled for the “floor mat” problem and an additional 2.3 million vehicles for defective accelerator pedals. Nearly 2 million vehicles were affected by both recalls.

Beasley Allen lawyers were involved in litigation surrounding the Toyota sudden unintended acceleration from the beginning. They alleged the problem was actually bigger: the software in the Toyota that controlled the electronic throttle system was poorly designed and did not conform to industry standards.

In October 2013, Beasley Allen lawyers went to trial on behalf of the family of Jean Bookout. She was injured and her passenger Barbara Schwarz was killed in a September 2007 crash involving a Toyota Camry. The jury’s verdict in this landmark acceleration case — awarding $3 million in compensatory damages and finding that the plaintiffs were entitled to punitive damages — not only led Toyota to settle the case for a confidential amount before the jury could determine the amount of punitive damages, but caused Toyota to try to reach a global settlement of the hundreds and hundreds of cases pending in multidistrict litigation proceedings.

http://www.rightinginjustice.com/news/2016/01/08/possible-toyota-sudden-unintended-acceleration-crash-kills-five-injures-three-in-california/

Feds checking on possible unintended acceleration car crash

Updated 10:06 pm, Monday, January 4, 2016

VIDEO ON LINK

ONTARIO, Calif. (AP) — Federal transportation safety officials have taken an interest in a New Year's Eve crash near Los Angeles in which a driver of a Toyota Yaris said the car began to accelerate uncontrollably before smashing into another car.

Five people died in the collision.

Gordon Trowbridge, a spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, says the agency's special crash investigations team will join accident specialists from the California Highway Patrol when they inspect the Yaris.

CHP Officer Christina Wood said all possible factors will be scrutinized, including a stuck accelerator. She said the CHP already has ruled out drunk driving.

Several years ago, Toyota and its Lexus luxury brand vehicles were plagued by complaints of unwanted acceleration as well as investigations, recalls and lawsuits.

http://www.timesunion.com/news/us/article/Feds-checking-on-possible-unintended-acceleration-6736639.php?cmpid=twitter-desktop

Five killed, including 7-year-old boy, after out-of-control car veers off 10 Freeway

Kate Mather and Anh Do

Four adults and a 7-year-old boy were killed Thursday in Ontario after an out-of-control car drove off the 10 Freeway and hit another vehicle near an exit ramp, officials said.

Michael Pineda, a boy who was riding in the out-of-control Toyota Yaris, died in a nearby emergency room, the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department said Friday.

All four people in the other vehicle, a Toyota Solara, died at the scene, authorities said. They were identified as: Matthew Pusateri, 29, of Mission Viejo; Anthony Flores, 30, of Hemet; Jeffrey Willey, 29, of Huntington Beach; and Monica Flores, 37, of Arcadia.

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The crash occurred shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday, sheriff's officials said, after the Yaris "began to accelerate uncontrollably" while driving east on the 10 Freeway.

The driver, "unable to stop or slow the car," drove off the freeway at the Vineyard Avenue exit, the sheriff's department said. It then struck the second car, a sedan driving north on Vineyard.

The California Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

CHP Officer Christina Wood said Friday that investigators do not believe the 51-year-old woman driving the Yaris was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The driver, Wood added, was “fully cooperating” with investigators.

The driver, along with a 16-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl who were passengers, were still at Loma Linda University Medical Center on Friday, Wood said, where they were being treated for their injuries.

Wood said the driver was related to the 7-year-old boy who was killed in the crash, but did not specify how.

The two people sitting in the front of the Solara were wearing their seatbelts, Wood said. Investigators have not been able to determine whether the two people in the backseat were, she said, because of the damage to the vehicle.

Times staff writer Soumya Karlamangla contributed to this report.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-ontario-crash-20160101-story.html

Toyota Death by Snow Bank?

Doesn't it seem as if an awful lotta TOYOTA DRIVERS experience MEDICAL CONDITIONS leading to their deaths?

A TOYOTA Driver is killed in a crash, can't speak for him/herself....a MEDICAL CONDITION is blamed?

What if the TOYOTA SUDDENLY ACCELERATED? Where the brake marks on the road?  

When the TOYOTA BRAKES FAILED on the LEMON LADY'S NEW TOYOTA, she was taking inventory of obstacles to avoid injuring others....or becoming ROAD KILL under a loaded 18-wheeler.

2nd crash in Nine Mile River

Just before noon Wednesday, East Hants District RCMP were called to a single car crash on MacPhee Road in Nine Mile River. Paramedics and members of the local fire department also responded.

RCMP say a 58-year-old man driving a Toyota Yaris lost control on MacPhee Road and landed in a snowbank.

Members of the local fire department also responded to the scene and paramedics rushed the man to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Police say they suspect the crash may have been the result of complications due to a medical condition but the matter remains under investigation.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/man-killed-in-beaver-bank-crash-may-have-had-medical-issue-before-crash-1.2962908



JUST MY OPINION .... AT THE MOMENT!

You only had to review TOYOTA owners' complaints posted on the NHTSA web site to know that TOYOTA was unresponsive.

There's more to come!

Toyota recalls about 6.4 million vehicles globally

By YURI KAGEYAMA

 

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. is recalling 6.39 million vehicles globally for a variety of problems spanning nearly 30 models in Japan, the U.S., Europe and other places.

 

No injuries or crashes have been reported related to the recalls announced Wednesday. But two reports of fires are linked to one of the problems, a defective engine starter that can keep the motor running.

Some vehicles were recalled for more than one problem. The recall cases total 6.76 million vehicles for 27 Toyota models, the Pontiac Vibe and the Subaru Trezia, produced from April 2004 through August 2013.

The Pontiac Vibe, which is a General Motors Co. model, is also involved because Toyota and GM made cars at the same plant in California and the recalled model is the same as the Toyota Matrix. It was recalled for a problem with a spiral cable attached to an air-bag. It is unrelated to a separate GM recall over ignition switches linked to at least 13 deaths.

Subaru is partly owned by Toyota, and the model was the same as the Toyota Ractis.

For the recall, Toyota also reported problems with seat rails, the bracket holding the steering column in place, the windshield-wiper motor and a cable attached to the air-bag module.

The recalls affect a large range of models, including the Corolla, RAV4, Matrix, Yaris, Highlander, and Tacoma.

By region, the latest recall affects 2.3 million vehicles in North America, 1.09 million vehicles in Japan and 810,000 vehicles in Europe. Other regions affected by the recall include Africa, South America and the Middle East.

Toyota was embroiled in a massive recall crisis in the U.S. starting in late 2009 and continuing through 2010, covering a wide range of problems including faulty floor mats, sticky gas pedals and defective brakes. In response, it has become quicker to recall cars and

Last month, the Japanese automaker reached a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department to pay a $1.2 billion penalty for hiding information about defects in its cars. It earlier paid fines of more than $66 million for delays in reporting unintended acceleration problems.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration never found defects in electronics or software in Toyota cars, which had been targeted as a possible cause.

The focus in the U.S. auto industry has recently shifted to another major recall problem, this time with defective ignitions in compact cars made by GM.

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