A Las Vegas woman is suing the Toyota Motor Corp. and a Henderson Toyota dealership after her husband was killed in a December car crash, alleging the death was the result of a faulty accelerator and floor mat.
Kim Levine and her attorney, Gerald Gillock, filed the lawsuit July 28 and discussed the case Monday at Gillock's Las Vegas office. The suit accuses the company and Findlay Toyota, 925 Auto Show Drive in Henderson, of intentional misconduct and negligence in connection with the death of Levine's husband, Jeffrey, on Dec. 17, 2009.
The suit claims Jeffrey, who has two children, was coming home from work at 5:30 a.m. northbound on U.S. 95 when the gas pedal of his 2009 Toyota Tacoma, a company vehicle, became lodged beneath the truck's floor mat.
The vehicle then accelerated to speeds exceeding 90 mph, slammed into the back of a motor home and veered off the highway. Jeffrey died at the scene. His body's position suggested he was trying to dislodge the accelerator, according to the lawsuit.
Levine, 48, is seeking unspecified compensation for the emotional trauma experienced by her and the couple's two sons, and the economic loss resulting from Jeffrey's death.
"This did not have to happen," Levine said, explaining her motivation Monday for filing the lawsuit.
She said her two sons, ages 6 and 13, are struggling to cope with the loss of their father, and the strain on her schedule as a single parent has affected her ability to work as a skin care specialist.
Gillock on Monday said Toyota delayed extending a factory recall to the United States in 2009 - focused on gas pedals and floor mats - that already was taking place in Europe.
Levine said Jeffrey had the truck serviced Nov. 16, a month before his death, at Findlay Toyota. The lawsuit alleges the dealership was aware of the possible risk and the recall in Europe, and inspected the floor mat and gas pedal but made no mention of the problem to Jeffrey.
The recall reached the U.S. about a month after Jeffrey's death and named 2005-2010 Toyota Tacomas. Toyota President Akio Toyoda apologized to Congress in February for the deadly defects, which have been tied to 38 lawsuits against the company.
Selman Breitman, the law firm representing Findlay Toyota, declined to comment on the case on Monday. Vincent Galvin, who will defend the Toyota Corp. in the case, didn't immediately return calls for comment. Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons in Torrance, Calif., told the Associated Press the death was tragic, but says the company doesn't comment on pending litigation.
By Dylan Scott, Las Vegas Sun