Runaway Lexus Driver In LA Sues Toyota

 

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'No brakes! No brakes!'

According to the Los Angeles Times, a passenger in the Lexus told the California Highway Patrol that Chung also shouted, "No brakes! No brakes!" right before the crash. The Lexus was traveling an estimated 80 mph on Interstate 10 when it crashed at the Overland Avenue exit ramp. The Times also said that a woman who claimed to have witnessed the crash wrote on the Los Angeles Fire Department's web site that she saw a "look of terror" on Chung's face during the incident.

ABC News

Two months after prosecutors dropped... View Full Caption

Two months after prosecutors dropped vehicular manslaughter charges against her, a Los Angeles woman has filed suit against Toyota, claiming that sudden unintended acceleration in her Lexus SUV led to a fatal accident in 2008. Unmi Suk Chung, 62, alleges the crash was caused by a defect in the car's electronic throttle. Chung was behind the wheel of her Lexus RX 330 when it sped out of control and slammed into a Mercedes at an off ramp. Chung's 69-year-old sister-in-law, who was in the back seat of the Lexus, was killed in the crash. Close

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However, prosecutors say the evidence "appeared to suggest" that Chung was mistakenly pressing on the gas pedal instead of the brake, which was a factor in the decision to drop charges. According to Lynch, "there's an issue in many people minds as to whether or not it goes beyond simple negligence and amounts to criminal negligence."

Lynch acknowledged that the defense maintained that "because it was a Toyota product maybe there was sudden acceleration syndrome, an electronic defect in the car itself."

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