Santee Car Crash Causes Toyota to Recall All Floor Mats
The recent tragic Santee car accident that killed a CHP officer along with his family due to floor mats that trapped the accelerator was the catalyst for Toyota make huge efforts recently to order all such floor mats to be scrutinized under mandatory inspections in all Lexus and Toyota vehicles. It appears that a wrong floor mat was installed into the Lexus loaner that CHP Officer Saylor had been driving when the fiery crash took place.
Though the investigation is not complete just yet, Toyota wanted to waste no time in getting the word out to consumer before a similar catastrophe took place. It was investigators with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that believes the all-weather floor mats found in the wreckage of the accident could have been a cause.
Released 911 tapes that the Jurewitz Law Group has previously reported on showed that backseat passenger Chris Lastrella, brother-in-law to Officer Saylor, made a call to report that their accelerator was stuck adn they had no brakes and they were driving at 120 mph, just before crashing into an SUV at the Mission Gorge intersection with state Route 125 in Santee on August 28 of this year.
By their orders, vehicles may also be taken to dealers for the inspection, and vehicles brought in for any service will have the mats checked as part of the service. The company recently released a statement noting that Toyota takes the safety of the public and their passengers very seriously and will fully cooperate with any investigation. It offers its deepest sympathies to the Saylor and Lastrella families.
