News

Toyota has settled hundreds of sudden acceleration cases

(Photo: jeffkubes, via Shutterstock)

On the last day of 2015, Berta Orellana picked up her seven-year-old grandson from daycare in a brand new Toyota and headed on a road trip with the boy and two of her children, planning to spend the holiday in Las Vegas with her daughter who lived there. Orellana, then a 51-year-old delivery driver for Amazon, left the minivan she used for work at home in Northridge, California. Her husband, a musician who was skipping the trip so he could play a New Year’s Eve gig, had rented a 2015 Toyota Yaris for Orellana to use for the trip.

By the time Orellana noticed a few issues with the rental – shaking at stop lights and an odd buzzing noise when she stepped on the gas – the Avis Car Rental store was already closed for the holiday. Orellana initially wasn’t too concerned, as she would later tell California Highway Patrol (CHP) investigators, according to a crash report obtained by FairWarning, figuring the problems had something to do with the car being so new.

The Yaris had jumped a curb along the shoulder at the end of the exit ramp and skidded into a Toyota Solara stopped at an intersection.

Want to see more stories like this? Sign up for The Roundup, the free daily newsletter about California politics from the editors of Capitol Weekly. Stay up to date on the news you need to know.

Sign up below, then look for a confirmation email in your inbox.

 

Support for Capitol Weekly is Provided by: