Knoxville family sues Toyota for fatal car accident

It wasn’t long ago that headlines proclaimed tales of failing breaks in Toyota vehicles that led to serious car accidents across the country. Following a flood of claims and complaints, the motor vehicle manufacturer recalled thousands of car models. However, according to one local family, it did not recall enough.

Last year, one Knoxville family experienced an unimaginable tragedy. A Knoxville man, and a U.S. Marine, was killed in a terrible car accident. While witnesses told local police that the man may have been speeding, his family and attorneys say the car itself caused the fatal accident.

The family filed their lawsuit on Tuesday, just days before mourning the one-year anniversary of their loved one, who died on Dec. 23, 2010. The family claims that the electric throttle in the Marine’s 2008 Toyota Yaris malfunctioned while he was driving on I-640 near the I-75 ramp. The speed of the car is controlled by the electric throttle. Attorneys have also accused Toyota of knowing about the problem but doing nothing about it.

The Knoxville family’s lawsuit is the latest to be added to a pile of hundreds that have been filed against Toyota across the country.

Toyota issued a statement expressing its sympathies for the family. It added, however, that the electronic throttle systems in its vehicles are not defective — something it says can be proven with scientific evidence. The cases against Toyota will likely begin being heard in 2013.

This family suffered a terrible tragedy that no one ever hopes to experience. Hopefully their case will be handled thoroughly and fairly.

Source: WBIR, “Family of Marine killed in car crash files lawsuit against Toyota,” Dec. 21, 2011