Toyota recall and apology come too late for Redwood City man and San Jose family

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Toyota recall and apology come too late for Redwood City man and San Jose family

By Sandra Gonzales

sgonzales@mercurynews.com
Posted: 10/04/2009 06:21:01 PM PDT
Updated: 10/04/2009 09:06:38 PM PDT

After Guadalupe Gomez's 2007 Toyota Camry careened out of control, mysteriously accelerating to more than 100 mph on a San Jose highway, no one quite believed his story that the engine simply surged on its own when it smashed into a Honda Accord, killing its driver in a burst of flames.

Now, they do.

In an extraordinary move last week, Toyota's president apologized after his company announced it was launching its largest recall ever in the United States over floor mats that could jam the accelerator — a similar problem that thrust Gomez into such a legal quagmire that even the attorneys who sued him extended their sympathy.

"This poor man (Gomez) was just driving his car and this happened," said Mohinder Mann, the attorney representing the family of Troy Edwin Johnson, the 39-year-old driver of the Honda Accord. "He was very honest, he told everybody what happened, but CHP wanted to blame him."

Gomez's attorneys did not return calls seeking comment, and a Toyota representative said they could not comment on former litigation.

"Toyota was attempting to put some blame on him, but he did everything he could to stop the car and prevent it from crashing, he was dodging cars and holding down the horn. He was very remorseful," said Gary Mann, an attorney who also represented the Johnson family and interviewed Gomez while investigating the crash.

For his part, Gomez, 70, of Redwood City, wants distance from the case for
which he was arrested and sued.

"It's a closed chapter in my life and I would prefer not to go into it," he told the Mercury News.

Both sides settled the case this year for an undisclosed amount; Toyota was singled out as the primary defendant while Gomez was only a nominal defendant.

Though Gomez declined to discuss that fateful morning of July 26, 2007, Santa Clara County Superior Court records detail a horrific tragedy.

Gomez was behind the wheel of the Camry when it suddenly accelerated while he was driving southbound on Interstate 280. He tried to kill the engine as he dodged traffic on the busy thoroughfare — pushing the ignition button, kicking the accelerator and changing gears.

But his new black Camry would not stop — not until it smashed into the Honda Accord traveling near Race Street in San Jose. The Honda exploded into flames. The driver, Johnson, a father of five, burned to death — the same day he was hired as a dispatcher for a taxi company. Attempts to reach the Johnson family were unsuccessful.

Gomez, who was hospitalized for a broken leg and cuts suffered in the crash, was arrested on suspicious of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. But he held steadfast to his story. Shortly after the crash, Gomez's brother told the Mercury News that his brother had tried to brake and threw the car in neutral as it weaved through traffic for miles, clipping another car before striking Johnson's Honda.

During its investigation, the California Highway Patrol found unsecured plastic and fabric pieces of the floor mat on the driver's side — pieces that may have jammed the accelerator — the same defect that led Toyota to a previous recall of mats for certain models. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, meanwhile, had concluded the same thing: that an unsecured floor mat in the Camry and the Lexus could slide forward and entrap the throttle pedal at the fully open position and propel the car to speed out of control.

As a result, the CHP forwarded the case to the District Attorney's Office without a recommendation, and prosecutors ultimately decided not to file any charges because they concluded they could not prove criminal liability without a reasonable doubt.

Last week — in the wake of a Santee fatal crash that killed an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer and three family members — the Japanese automaker announced it would recall 3.8 million vehicles in the U.S., warning Toyota and Lexus vehicles about safety problems tied to the removable floor mats that could cause accelerators to get stuck and lead to a crash, serious injury or death. The accident involving the CHP officer apparently occurred when the accelerator got jammed by a floor mat, prompting an unusual apology from Toyota's president, Akio Toyoda.

Stunning reporters in Tokyo, Toyoda apologized for a series of problems facing the auto giant, including the Santee crash that led to the recall.

"Four precious lives have been lost. I offer my deepest condolences," Toyoda said. "Customers bought our cars because they thought they were the safest. But now we have given them cause for grave concern. I can't begin to express my remorse."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it had received reports of 102 incidents in which the accelerator may have jammed on the Toyota vehicles involved.

Toyota has now issued a series of warnings to owners about the floor mats.

For Gomez and Johnson, however, the warning came too late.

"All along, Toyota had been claiming there is no defect, and now they are taking the view that it is. I'm glad," said Mohinder Mann. "They needed to take immediate action to warn the public so we won't have any more deaths like Mr. Johnson."