Michigan Lawsuit Reveals More Potential Toyota Safety Issues

Flint, MI—Guadalupe Albert was an extremely safe driver. In fact, she never received a speeding ticket and actually avoided the highway because she hated driving fast. However, when Guadalupe’s car accelerated out-of-control, jumped a curb and crashed into a tree, she was killed almost instantly. Mrs. Albert was on her way to a nearby grocery store that her family owned and was planning on preparing dinner for her husband while at work. Witnesses to the accident said that her car ran three red lights, crossed a busy four-lane street, and swerved to miss hitting other cars. When the car hit the tree, witnesses said that it sounded “like a canon had been shot off” and the speedometer was found stuck on 80 mph after her car stopped.

Mrs. Albert, a 77-year-old former autoworker, drove a Toyota Camry. However, her car didn’t have problems with faulty floor mats or sticky gas pedals. Instead, her accident is one of many that experts believe is evidence of a faulty electronic system that controls the throttle and engine speed in Toyotas. Federal regulators are now investigating the problem with the computerized systems, but Toyota maintains that there is no such problem.

Mrs. Albert’s family filed suit in Circuit Court in Genesee County, alleging that Toyota and one of its suppliers, the Japanese firm Denso, were negligent in manufacturing an electronic throttle system that lead to Mrs. Albert’s death. While Toyota continues to deny any responsibility in her death, Mrs. Albert’s family is stunned over their loss.