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Toyota Has to Pay $11 Million in 2006 Fatal Crash Trial

Remember the huge lawsuit involving Toyota's suddenly accelerating cars? Good, because the automaker has been now ordered to pay around $11 million for a 2006 Minnesota fatal crash it claimed it happened because of the driver’s fault.
Toyota accelerator pedal 1 photo
Photo: Toyota
According to an Automotive News report, after a three-week trial, the jurors in Minnesota found Toyota 60 percent liable for the unfortunate event, while the driver was indeed responsible only for the rest of 40 percent.

The car involved in the accident was not part of the over 10 million vehicles recall between 2009 and 2010, pushing Toyota into believing it had nothing to do with unintended acceleration.

The driver, Kua Fong Lee related he found himself unable to stop his Camry that day, which suddenly started accelerating for no reason. He approached an intersection and slammed into an Oldsmobile Ciera, killing the driver and two kids.

Lee got charged for vehicular homicide and sent to prison, but when the huge unintended acceleration recalls started to surface he discovered he might be one of the very first to have been affected. He won a motion to set aside his conviction and was released shortly after, suing the automaker.

The plaintiffs discovered the Camry had indeed a defect that caused the gas pedal to become stuck and the brakes alone were not enough to stop the fully accelerated car in time.
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