Toyota settles American lawsuit over double death crash

Toyota has settled the first of hundreds of lawsuits claiming that deaths and injuries were caused by sudden acceleration in its vehicles.
By The Newsroom
Published 18th Jan 2013, 19:56 BST

A spokeswoman said the Japanese car giant reached the agreement in a wrongful death case brought by the family of Paul Van Alfen and Charlene Jones Lloyd, killed when their Toyota Camry slammed into a wall in Utah in 2010. The spokeswoman would not disclose the financial terms.

Last month Toyota agreed to a settlement worth more than $1bn (£628m) to resolve hundreds of lawsuits claiming economic losses suffered by Toyota owners, but hundreds more relating to deaths and injuries remained.

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Toyota has blamed driver error, faulty floor mats and stuck accelerator pedals for the problems which led to a series of recalls of more than 14 million vehicles.

Mr Van Alfen was driving the Camry when the accelerator pedal stuck, police said. The car went through a stop sign at the bottom of a ramp and through an intersection, before hitting the wall.

Mr Van Alfen and Ms Lloyd, his son’s fiancée, were killed. Mr Van Alfen’s wife and son were injured.

Related topics:ToyotaAmerican