Settlement Reached in Toyota Wrongful Death Suit Over Uncontrollable Speed

Toyota Motor Corp. has reached a settlement with the family of a California state trooper and three relatives killed in a high-profile automobile accident that was caused by the uncontrolled acceleration of a Lexus in 2009. The accident brought attention to Toyota sudden acceleration problems and ultimately led to a string of Toyota recalls. 

No details have been disclosed about the terms of the out-of-court settlement reached in the wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor, his wife Cleofe, their 13-year-old daughter Mahala and Cleofe’s brother, Christ Lastrella. All four died when Saylor lost control of a Lexus given to him by a San Diego area Toyota dealer as a loaner in August 2009.

During the accident, the Lexus accelerated to speeds as high as 120 m.p.h. before slamming into another vehicle and careening off an embankment. The accident gained national media attention as a result of a 9-1-1 call placed by Lastrella from inside the vehicle while it was accelerating out of control. In addition, witnesses reported that the car’s wheels burst into flames as Mark Saylor stood on the brakes in an attempt to stop the vehicle.

The complaint was filed in San Diego Superior Court in March by Saylor’s family. It named Toyota Motor Corp. and other Toyota entities in the U.S., as well as El Cajon Luxury Cars, Inc. as defendants.

According to National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigations, a number of factors played into the fatal accident. First and foremost was the fact that the car, a Lexus ES350, was equipped with thick, all-weather floormats from an RX400h. The mats could not be secured properly and jammed the pedal in the throttle-open position. NHTSA investigators also found that the vehicle’s braking system, which appeared to have been heavily worn before the accident, lost power-assist when the throttle was fully opened. They also found that the gas pedal was not hinged in a way that you could pivot it and easily get it unstuck. 

They also determined that the fact that the Lexus’s push button starting system also factored into the accident. The button has to be held down for three full seconds before the engine will shut down, which Saylor probably did not know. 

Approximately one month after the accident, on September 29, Toyota announced a floor mat recall impacting 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles that contained a certain type of floor mat on the driver’s side that could cause the accelerator to stick.

The Japanese automaker later recalled millions more vehicles when it was discovered that, in some cases, the gas pedal itself was getting stuck without the floor mats. The Toyota gas pedal problems have been associated with dozens of accidents and a number of serious and fatal personal injury claims. The incidents have led to hundreds of  Toyota product liability lawsuits, several other wrongful death claims, and a number of Toyota class-action lawsuits.

In April, all federal Toyota sudden acceleration lawsuits were consolidated and centralized in the U.S. District Court or the Central District of California before U.S. District Judge James Selna as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL) for pretrial proceedings. There were about 228 federal lawsuits over recalled Toyota vehicles included in the MDL, and nearly 100 other lawsuits pending in state courts nationwide at the time.