Cars have hundreds of parts that could potentially contribute to serious injury or wrongful death in automobile accidents, and even the simplest of design defects can lead to a car accident.
Our Santee car accident lawyers know that nothing is made perfectly. Auto accidents are caused by design defects every year, but what is frustrating is that many of these imperfections could be avoided if car manufacturers did not rush to place potentially unsafe cars on sale for consumers in order to gain a profit.
Unfortunately that was the case in recent San Diego car accident news when an off-duty California highway patrol officer and his family died in a car accident when the accelerator on the Lexus they were in reportedly got stuck.
UPDATE: Toyota has finally issued a recall for the defective accelerators.
Tragically officer Mark Saylor of Chula Vista, his 45- year-old wife, Cleofe; their 13-year-old daughter Mahala Saylor and the officer’s brother-in-law, 38-year-old Chris Lastrella, all suffered wrongful deaths in the fatal car accident.
Someone believed to be Saylor’s wife called 911 to report that the car’s accelerator was stuck, but it was too late. The Lexus clipped a Ford Explorer, smashed through a fence and hit an embankment, which launched it into the bed of the San Diego River, where it burst into flames. Both vehicles had been going north on 125 in Santee, and the driver of Explorer was trying to turn left when it was struck from behind.
The 2009 Lexus ES 350 was a loaner that CHP Officer Saylor was given after he dropped his vehicle off for service.
While it is not known why the accelerator may have gotten stuck or what exactly the problem was with the Lexus, design defects are one of the top causes of car accidents.
If you or a loved one have been involved in a car accident, hiring an experienced car accident lawyer can help ease any pain and suffering you may be going through, as well as helping you find a way to pay the medical bills, which tend to pile up in accidents like these.
Call us now at 1-800-655-6585 or click here for a free consultation with an experienced car accident lawyer to find out how we may help you. We look forward to providing good advice to help you make smart decisions about your case in either English or Spanish. No fee if no recovery.
Related posts:
- CHP Officer Fatal Car Accident Prompts Toyota Inspection
- Defective Floormats Suspected In Fatal Car Accident
- Relatives Of CHP Officer File Lawsuit Against Toyota
- Toyota Floor Mat Recall After Santee Auto Accident
- Toyota Recall: ‘No Defect’ Despite CHP Officer Wrongful Death
Tags: design defect, Santee, wrongful death
This accident has been bothering me. Why didn’t the driver put the car in neutral? I’m sure the breaks were burned out because the car was in full power. If he put the car in neutral at the time when the Accelerator got stuck he would have been able to stop the car. This makes no sense that the driver did not put the car in neutral. There’s got to be more with this story.
The push button vehicle would not allow the cars transmission to be put into neutral like another automatic or even a stick shift. However, there could be more to the story than just the floormats sticking to the accelerator pedal. I worked closely with officer saylor because im a tow truck driver. He will be missed
Thank you for sharing. As car accident attorneys, we know that what appears to be the truth is too often mistaken for the truth. Sincerely, Michael Pines
Mr. Boshaw, could you explain more on why the push button ignition would prevent shifting into neutral. Usually just pressing on the brake allows you to shift, regardless of engine revs. Also these cars require you to hold button several seconds to turn off. Had he just come from the dealers? and never had the opportunity to turn it off? How did the loaner of this car not tell him this fact !!!! part of the blame lies with this person whoever it is.
I just recently heard of this accident. The question as to why an experienced CHP officer couldn’t figure out how to stop a car with a stuck accelerator kept troubling me. In older classic cars you can just shut the engine off, the steering and brakes would still work. In newer cars due to power steering and power brakes it is better put the car in neutral, stop and shut off the engine. If this doesn’t work (and if no safer options exist), you can 1. turn the car off (though no power steering or power brakes) and hopefully come to a safe stop using the emergency brake. 2. you can Jam the shifter into reverse, which in my mishap experiences turns the engine off (and may or may not damage the transmission) and again apply the emergency brake. 3. Try everything else??
The answers came to me a few days ago. I know have a better idea as to why the Lexus was probably not able to be stopped by even an experienced driver, which I am.
A few days ago I was offered a Toyota Prius as a rental vehicle. The rental rep started to show me how to operate the vehicle. The controls were all electronic, from the ignition start/off switch, the shift selector, the accelerator and possibly also the brakes. The computer on such a vehicle would probably not allow the driver to shut off the vehicle or to change the transmission off from any of the forward drive gears (1,2,3, D)to N, R or P if the accelerator was stuck open, as these counter-active measures could probably damage the engine or transmission. Likewise the smart electronic controls may probably not allow brake pedal to activate if the vehicle is being accelerated. The emergency brakes would probably be only mechanical means of stopping the ill-fated Lexus, but they may have burned out or failed with countering acceleration.
Knowing about the tragic Lexus mishap and considering that Prius and Lexus are both from Toyota and could possibly have the same electronic controls, I was happy not to rent the Prius. I knew I would be at the mercy of electronic controls and a computer that would probably override means of stopping if the accelerator got stuck. I instead opted for a Ford Focus with more familiar mechanical controls.
[...] Mark Saylor was traveling in a loaner Lexus given to him by the mechanic shop where he left his car for repairs. It is reported that he was traveling with his wife Cleofe Saylor, 13-year old daughter Mahala Saylor and his brother-in-law Chis Lastrella. All people traveling in that car died when their vehicle began traveling out of control down the freeway when their accelerator stuck. They clipped another vehicle, slammed through a fence, and landed in the bank of the San Diego River in which their car exploded. This will prove to be an interesting case considering Mr. Saylor is trained in evasive maneuvers and advanced vehicle tactics. The questions will rise as to weather there is actually anything that can possibly be done when the accelerator sticks. If not the settlements here could get completely out of control. Bulent Ezal and his wife were driving in their Toyota Camry when he says it suddenly took off, causing them to plunge over this 100 foot cliff into the Pacific ocean. His wife died in the accident. (ABC News) [...]
Toyota has been destroying evidence in the past regarding it’s vehicles. If the CEO had any sense of honor or guilt according to the code of bushido, he should commit suicide. Other CEO’s of companies tha failed or have done harm to others have committed suicide. I feel Toyota has gotten too big and arrogant, which is the downfall of any car company.
This is not to take anything away from this tragic accident, but it should be known that, despite its flaws (and the car does have some serious safety flaws), the Lexus ES350, barring malfunction, can be shifted into neutral at any time, from any gear, at any speed.
I had to sue Toyota under the NJ LEMON LAW as TOYOTA would not fix anything on my new 2002 CAMRY I bought in late 2001–it was an early issue of the totally new CAMRY then.
I escalated the issues many times via the TOYOTA 800 # and I met with the Manager and then regional manager and each time we all went for rides in the car and they denied anything and told me some stuff was my fault on the new car—SOUND FAMILIAR to the ACCELERATOR issues in 2010?
More people need to aggregate and share their problems online.
I used online accounts of problems in 2002 of other people with similar problems as evideince and the Toyota people actually laughed at me.
Ray
Yet another Prius issue…this time the CHP was able to stop it.
http://video.foxnews.com/v/4094218/runaway-prius-on-california-highway?playlist_id=87249