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1996 TOYOTA CELICA — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

crash2 injured · 769216 · 2010-03-02

Vehicle

Make
TOYOTA
Model
CELICA
Year
1996
Manufacturer
Toyota Motor Corporation
Component
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Miles at failure
500,000
Speed
70 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
2
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
Yes
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

THIS INCIDENT OCCURRED WHEN MY 1996 TOYOTA CELICA MALFUNCTIONED WHILE I WAS TRAVELING ON I-75 SOUTH NEAR PIQUA, OHIO. MY LANE OF TRAFFIC (PASSING LANE) WAS SLOWING DOWN DUE TO CONSTRUCTION, SO I ATTEMPTED TO SLOW DOWN. TO MY SURPRISE, MY BRAKE PEDAL WOULD NOT RESPOND (EITHER DUE TO A MALFUNCTION OF EITHER THE CRUISE CONTROL OR ACCELERATOR--OR BOTH), AND I HAD TO MOVE TO THE MEDIAN. UNFORTUNATELY, WHEN I TRIED TO BRAKE AGAIN, THE BRAKES WOULD NOT ENGAGE AND THE MEDIAN ENDED. MY CAR TRAVELED AIRBORNE OFF THE MEDIAN AND PLUMMETED TO THE ROAD BENEATH I-75. MY CAR TOOK OUT A SET OF CABLE WIRES, JUMPED A FENCE, BEFORE LANDING ON THE BUSY ROAD BELOW AND STOPPED WHEN IT HIT A CONCRETE BRIDGE SUPPORT. AN AMBULANCE WAS CALLED AS WELL AS THE OHIO STATE HIGHWAY PATROL. EVERYONE INVOLVED WAS SURPRISED THAT MY PASSENGER AND I WERE NOT INSTANTLY KILLED! WE DID SUFFER SOME MINOR INJURIES AND THE CAR WAS TOTALED. I DISTINCTLY REMEMBER STEPPING ON THE BRAKE PEDAL SEVERAL TIMES TO NO AVAIL. I REPORTED THIS TO TOYOTA AND THEY WERE INITIALLY VERY COOPERATIVE AND UNDERSTANDING. THEY WOULD NOT PROMISE ANYTHING, BUT ASKED WHAT I EXPECTED. I TOLD THEM I THOUGHT THAT TOYOTA SHOULD AT LEAST REPLACE MY CAR. THEY DID NOT SEE A PROBLEM WITH THIS. THEY LATER ASSUMED NO LIABILITY AND REFUSED TO DO ANYTHING. TO FOLLOW UP, I WOULD HAVE NEEDED TO COME UP WITH $25,000 TO HIRE AN ACCIDENT RECONSTRUCTIONIST. I DID NOT HAVE THAT AMOUNT OF CASH, SO I DROPPED IT. I RECENTLY HAVE BEEN AMAZED IN RE

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10315912
Machine
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