In perhaps the first of many cases involving people convicted of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault who spent time in jail or are spending time in jail currently, a judge has determined that a man in Minnesota was not at fault for the fatal accident that landed him in prison, but in fact it was a defect in the Toyota Camry he was driving.

Koua Fong Lee’s trial was allowed by a judge because of the Toyota recall announced in January of this year regarding sudden acceleration problems of as many as 10 million car world wide. He had been convicted of vehicular homicide and sentenced to 8 years in prison for a 2006 accident in his Toyota Camry. In testimony to congress during the Toyota hearings in February, witnesses described the problem.

They described it in frightening detail, but all with similar traits. They are driving when suddenly the car begins to accelerate. They do what anyone would do, they take their foot off of the accelerator, but the car keeps on accelerating. They brake, but the brakes don’t respond. They shift the car into neutral, then reverse, then park, still the car accelerates past 100 mph. All of this while they weave in and out of traffic for the only thing that worked on the car was the steering.

One woman told congress that she figured the only way to stop the car was to crash it, which would most likely kill her. So she phoned her husband to say good-bye. During her call, the car suddenly began to slow and shut off. When the tow truck driver arrived and tried to start the car he described the vehicle as “possessed,” quickly shut it off, and towed it away.

These types of stories were told at Lee’s trial and that is why he walks free.

Toyota Sudden Acceleration Trial

Lee, who immigrated to the U.S. from a Thai refugee camp in 2004, was driving a Toyota Camry the night of the accident. He exited the freeway at a high speed and plowed into the back of an Oldsmobile with a family in it.

The horrifying car accident killed Javis Trice Adams, 33, and his 10-year-old son, Javis Adams Jr. Devyn Bolton, Adams’ 6-year-old niece, suffered a serious spinal cord injury and was paralyzed from the neck down. She died shortly after Lee was convicted. Two others in the car suffered serious personal injuries.

Lee insisted during his trial that he did everything he could to stop the car but couldn’t. The car had mysteriously begun to accelerate on its own and the brakes didn’t work, but it happened so quickly he was unable to avoid hitting the Oldsmobile. Sound familiar?

During four days of testimony this week, Lee’s attorneys didn’t prove his car had a sudden acceleration problem. But they argued evidence backed up Lee’s account he was trying to brake. Witnesses were brought before the judge, all with similar stories about their Toyota vehicles.

They called up an expert to the stand who testified that the brake filaments in Lee’s car exploded during the accident, indicating the brake lights were on even though the car was accelerating.

Lee’s attorneys also argued his previous defense attorney in his original trial did a poor job. In trial, the previous attorney may have suggested that Lee’s foot slipped from the brake. The jury concluded that is what happened and thus forwarded a guilty verdict.

Prosecutors had voiced their disapproval of the new trial, but after the judge’s ruling, County Attorney Susan Gaertner conceded Lee’s new lawyers had shown his trial attorney was “ineffective.”

Ramsey County District Judge Joanne Smith — who presided over Lee’s original trial and had sentenced him to the maximum — said if that testimony from the other Toyota drivers had been introduced then, it would “more likely than not, or probably, or even almost certainly” have resulted in a different verdict for Lee.

Lee walked out of the courtroom with his wife Moua. They have four children, ages 8, 5, 3 and 2. Moua said her husband barely knows the youngest two because he was in prison when she was born.

Changing that was Lee’s first intention, he said.

Toyota Lawsuits

The families of the victims supported Lee’s attempts at a new trial and applaud the verdict, though outside the courtroom there was definitely a feeling of sadness for their lost loved ones. What this trial means to them is that they may finally get proper justice.

The family members of the deceased have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Toyota for serious defects that led to the deaths. It has not been revealed the amount the lawsuit is seeking or the details of the allegations made toward Toyota, but it is just one amongst hundreds of other lawsuits from Toyota victims from around the country seeking justice.

Lee has not yet decided, but some have suggested that he may have a case against Toyota also. For now, he may just be enjoying his freedom and time with his family that he missed during the stressful four-year ordeal.

This trial is a huge problem for Toyota, because there are several similar cases of incarcerated individuals who also say that they were falsely imprisoned because of defective Toyotas. More positive verdicts could lead to a legal precedent that there are serious defects in Toyota vehicles. But that leads to another issue for Toyota.

Lee’s Toyota Camry was a 1996 and was not included in this year’s recalls. If the problem falls back as far as a decade and a half, then the number of recalled vehicles could extend beyond the 10 million mark. That and the lawsuits may just mark the demise of what was once the largest, most trusted car manufacturer in the world.

There is currently a class action lawsuit in California that has consolidated many of the lawsuits around the country under one judge. Lawsuits are added to it every day, but not all Toyota lawsuits choose to join. It is up to the gravity of the situation and the strength of the evidence behind the lawsuit.

If you or a loved one has been affected by the Toyota recall, then it is important that you call an experienced defective products attorney with a successful record of defective design lawsuits. Call Phillips Webster for a consultation.

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