January 29, 2010 – Chairman Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-NY) announced that the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing next week titled, “Toyota Gas Pedals: Is the Public At Risk?”, to better understand the Federal government’s response to the recall of millions of Toyota vehicles due to reports of malfunctioning gas pedals.  Chairman Towns is also looking into the problem due to widespread public concerns and indication that the problem may not be limited to Toyota.

“There appears to be growing public confusion regarding which [Toyota] vehicles may be affected and how people should respond.  In short, the public is unsure as to what exactly the problem is, whether it is safe to drive their cars, or what they should do about it,” said Chairman Towns.

Chairman Towns, in a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, invited him to testify during the hearing that will be held on Thursday, February 4, 2010.

January 29, 2010 – Chairman Henry A. Waxman and Subcommittee Chairman Bart Stupak yesterday announced the Committee will be holding a hearing on February 25, 2010, to examine the persistent consumer complaints of sudden unintended acceleration in vehicles manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation.

“Like many consumers, I am concerned by the seriousness and scope of Toyota’s recent recall announcements,” said Chairman Waxman. “I look forward to learning more about the steps Toyota is taking to address safety defects, and I hope that the automaker will continue to cooperate with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA] to get unsafe vehicles off our roads.  Our hearing will help us better understand how quickly and effectively Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration responded to consumer complaints about the safety of the recalled Toyota vehicles.”

“While our meeting with Toyota officials yesterday was helpful, we continue to have questions about what was done to investigate and resolve this safety issue both by Toyota and NHTSA,” said Subcommittee Chairman Stupak.  “Incidences of sticking accelerators have been ongoing with Toyota vehicles for up to a decade, and have led to a disproportionally high number of deaths.  Failure to take every step possible to prevent future deaths or injury is simply unacceptable.  Our hearing will press for answers about the source of this accelerator defect and investigate whether adequate measures have been taken to ensure the safety of Toyota vehicle owners and all Americans on the road.”

According to the NHTSA, sudden acceleration events in Toyota vehicles have led to 19 deaths in the past decade, nearly twice the number of deaths associated with similar events in cars manufactured by all other automakers combined.  During the past few months, Toyota has issued two recalls of millions of vehicles based on concerns of serious safety defects.  On January 26, 2010, Toyota announced that it was halting U.S. sales and production of eight recalled models.

Chairman Waxman and Subcommittee Chairman Stupak sent letters to Toyota Motor North America President Yoshimi Inaba and NHTSA Administrator David Strickland requesting additional information and documents related to Toyota vehicles sold in the U.S.  Among the information requested is documentation from Toyota and NHTSA regarding when they first learned about potential safety defects related to sudden unintended acceleration and what actions they have taken to investigate and resolve the hazards.  In addition, committee leaders requested information concerning NHTSA’s investigation of consumer complaints and Toyota’s response to these complaints.

January 29, 2010 – Toyota Motor Corp. has told employees that it has figured out how to fix a problem with sticking accelerator pedals.

The company said in an e-mail to employees obtained by The Associated Press that it presented the remedy to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The memo did not say when the repairs would make their way to customers.

“Plans are being developed on a variety of fronts. Tomorrow, we will update you with further details,” Toyota said in the e-mail, sent Thursday night.

The company said on its Web site that engineers are working around the clock to fix the problem in eight of its models, including the top-selling Camry midsize sedan.

The automaker and the company that makes the gas pedal systems says the accelerators rarely stick.

But earlier this week Toyota halted sales and production of the models. It has recalled millions cars and trucks in the U.S., Europe and China because of the problem.

Toyota said Friday the recall in Europe may affect up to 1.8 million cars, including the small Yaris — its biggest seller in the region. The recall will also include the Corolla, Aygo, iQ, Auris, Verso, Avensis and the RAV4 sports utility vehicle.

Meanwhile, the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is launching an investigation into the problems with Toyota’s accelerator pedal systems. It has scheduled a Feb. 4 hearing entitled, “Toyota Gas Pedals: Is the Public at Risk?”

“There appears to be growing public confusion regarding which vehicles may be affected and how people should respond. In short, the public is unsure as to what exactly the problem is, whether it is safe to drive their cars, or what they should do about it,” wrote Chairman Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., in a letter Thursday to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Separately, a House investigative panel is planning a Feb. 25 hearing on the Toyota recalls. In a letter to NHTSA administrator David Strickland, lawmakers requested a timeline from January 2000 until the present for NHTSA’s investigations into Toyota defects and other data related to reports of sudden acceleration.

January 29, 2010 – Sheriff’s officials and prosecutors in Contra Costa County are investigating the death of an inmate who was being held at Richmond’s West County Jail.

Authorities say the 48-year-old man, who has not been identified, died at Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo Thursday morning. He had been taken there two days earlier after telling guards he was not feeling well.

Contra Costa County Sheriff’s spokesman Jimmy Lee says foul play is not suspected in his death. The man was arrested in Antioch last week on suspicion of a drug-related crime.

Lee says he was first booked at the county jail in Martinez before being transferred to the Richmond facility.

January 29, 2010 – A 24-year-old woman was airlifted to a hospital after firefighters worked to extricate her for nearly an hour after she became trapped in a vehicle following a head-on crash, police said.

The accident occurred at 12:40 p.m. when a white four-door Buick that was headed east on Santiago Canyon Road near Jamestown Way veered across into opposing traffic lanes and crashed head-on with a white Porsche Cayenne that was headed west, said Orange Police Sgt. Dan Adams.

Firefighters from Orange and the Orange County Fire Authority extricated the driver of the Buick. She was airlifted to a trauma center in critical condition, Adams said.

The 33-year-old female driver of the Porsche was rushed to a hospital with moderate injuries, Adams said.

Adams said it’s unclear what caused the driver of the Buick to cross all traffic lanes.

“The key is finding out what happened,” Adams said, adding that it could be drug, alcohol or medically related. “We don’t know,” he said.

Santiago Canyon Road has been shut down in both directions between Cannon Street and Orange Park Boulevard, Adams said. It is expected to reopen at around 4 p.m. after the Major Accident Investigation Team conducts their initial investigation, he said.

Anyone who witnesses the accident is asked to call the Orange Police Accident Investigation Bureau at 714-744-7460.

January 29, 2010 – A 49-year-old woman was fatally struck Thursday night by two vehicles while she was walking across West Orangethorpe Avenue, authorities said.

The coroner’s office has identified the woman as Beverly Frantz.

The accident was reported at approximately 8:02 p.m., said Sgt. Fred Casas of the Fullerton Police Department.

According to Casas, Frantz, who was described as a transient in the area, was struck by two vehicles on the westbound lanes. She was taken to UCI Medical Center and was later pronounced dead.

Both drivers remained at the scene and the cause of the collision is under investigation, Casas said.

Any witnesses are encouraged to contact accident investigator Brandon Clyde at 714-738-6812.

January 29, 2010 – A student was injured Friday in a collision between a school bus and another vehicle in Santee, authorities said.

The student, who was on the bus, was taken to a hospital following the crash, which occurred at the intersection of Carlton Oaks Drive and West Hills Parkway around 8 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

The student complained of back pain immediately following the incident and was taken to the hospital. The extent of the student’s injury was not immediately released.

No injuries were reported among the other six students who were on the bus at the time of the crash.

January 29, 2010 – A suspected drunken driver who slammed into a parked car and threw his vehicle into reverse in his haste to flee struck three pedestrians standing outside a Pacific Beach bar early Friday.

The driver was arrested at his home in nearby Clairemont shortly after he struck three people standing outside The Silver Fox Lounge at 1833 Garnet Ave. around 2 a.m., according to the San Diego Police Department.

One of the pedestrians suffered a broken leg and the other two had minor scrapes and bruises, said police Officer Brad Ruff.

Witnesses helped police track the driver to his home in Clairemont.

January 28, 2010 – Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it will recall an additional 1.09 million vehicles in the United States over problems with gas pedals and floor mats — a fresh blow to the world’s top automaker as it struggles to salvage its safety reputation.

Toyota’s recall troubles continue to grow, with the total number of vehicles affected by two recalls involving gas pedals growing to at least 5.3 million.

The latest addition to the recalls was announced Wednesday, with 1.1 million vehicles added to the 4.2 million recalled in November to fix a problem in which the gas pedal can become caught on the edge of the removable floor mat, causing the vehicle to accelerate uncontrollably.

A separate recall of 2.3 million vehicles announced last week, involving accelerator pedals that can stick on their own — is being expanded to include an undisclosed number of vehicles in Europe.

In most cases, the same vehicles are involved in both recalls. It was not immediately clear how many different vehicles, in total, are part of the two actions.

The vehicles being added to the floor mat-related recall are the 2008-2010 Highlander, 2009-2010 Corolla, 2009-2010 Venza, 2009-2010 Matrix, 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe.

General Motors’ Pontiac car is included in the recall because the Vibe and Toyota’s Matrix are similar vehicles that were produced under a partnership between the two companies.

The vehicles originally included in the floor mat-related recall were the 2007-2010 Toyota Camry, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2004-2009 Prius, 2010 Tacoma, 2007-2010 Tundra and the 2007-2010 Lexus ES350, 2006-2010 IS250 and the 2006-2010 IS350.

Most, but not all, of the vehicles involved in the stuck pedal recall are also involved in the other recall. They are the 2009-2010 Toyota RAV4, Corolla and Matrix and the Pontiac Vibe; the 2005-2010 Avalon; 2010 Highlander; 2007-2010 Tundra and the 2008-2010 Sequoia; and some 2007-2010 Camry.

Toyota has been working with the pedal supplier and is close to having a new pedal design ready for approval by regulators, a Toyota spokesman said Thursday.

In the meantime, owners who experience sticking or slowness in the movement of their car’s gas pedal should stop driving the car and call a Toyota dealer immediately.

Toyota extended its safety recall of millions of its most popular cars to Europe and China on Thursday in a further blow to the reputation of the world’s largest auto maker.

In China, the world’s biggest auto market in 2009, the carmaker said on Thursday it had submitted an application to recall over 75,000 RAV4 vehicles.

All the cars being recalled in North America, Europe and China have pedals made by supplier CTS Corp.

A further 2 million in Europe would take the total to 8 million, almost the same as its group global sales last year.

A Toyota Europe spokeswoman said the models and exact number of potentially affected vehicles was under investigation but there was no need to stop production.

Cars sold in Japan do not use the parts in question.

January 28, 2010 – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada, in cooperation with Starbucks Coffee Company, of Seattle, Wash., today announced a voluntary recall of Glass Water Bottles.

This recall involves clear glass water bottles with SKU number 11003503. The 20-ounce water bottles have the words “Glass Water Bottle” printed on a blue label affixed to the bottle.

The glass water bottle and/or its stopper can shatter when the consumer is removing or inserting the stopper, posing a laceration hazard to consumers.

The firm has received 10 reports of either glass stoppers or water bottles shattering, including eight reports of hand lacerations.

Approximately 13,200 water bottles were sold in the U.S. and Canada at Starbucks company-operated stores and at Starbucks locations in Safeway and Target stores nationwide during January 2010 for about $9.

Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective product, contact the Defective Product lawyers of the Gomez Law Firm today.