News
Cameron Park Mom Blames Toyota For Crash
CAMERON PARK, Calif. -- Toyota dealers are set this
week to get the parts they need to fix gas pedals in millions of
recalled cars, but the move cannot come soon enough for a Cameron
Park mom who blames the accelerator in her RAV4 for a crash that
occurred last week.
Sudden acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles has
led to at least five deaths since 2006, NHTSA statistics show.
However, the catch is that technicians must be trained
how to make the repair, and many owners of affected Toyotas may
face a wait to get the fix made.
"We have the fix and our dealers are ready,"
Jim Lentz, Toyota's president of U.S. sales, said during an interview
on Today.
Lentz said dealers are going to be working weekends
and other extra hours to help customers as soon as possible.
Toyota took out full-age ads in 20 major newspapers,
including The Sacramento Bee, apologizing for the problem. Lentz
said he is confident in the planned fix and emphasized that Toyotas
are safe.
But Tonia Nichols said she had a close call while
driving her RAV4.
She said she was driving her children to martial arts
practice when the accelerator in her SUV revved up and launched
the vehicle into a building.
Aware of the recall, she said she had practiced what
to do if the problem happened to her. But she said she had little
time to react.
"We were pulling into the martial arts studio,"
Nichols said. "The kids were in the back seat eating (a) snack
and I was just coming to a slow stop into the parking spot when
all of a sudden my car took off out from under me and slammed into
the building after going over a parking block and the sidewalk curb
and crashed into the building."
She said she was glad she arrived early and is grateful
that no children were on the sidewalk.
Nichols said her car is not listed in the current
recall, but still believes the accelerator was at fault.
Her insurance company is reviewing the case to see
if the crash is a result of a manufacturing defect.
Sheldon J. Schlesinger, P.A. represents clients throughout
the state of Florida including the cities of Boca Raton, Boynton
Beach, Carol City, Cooper City, Coral Gables, Coral Springs, Davie,
Deerfield Beach, Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hialeah, Hollywood,
Jupiter, Lake Worth, Miramar, Miami, Oakland Park, Palm Beach, Palm
Beach Gardens, Palm Springs, Pompano Beach, and Rivera Beach
Broward County • Miami-Dade County • Palm Beach
County
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