Reported by Newsroom Solutions

February 15, 2010

Toyota is suffering yet another potentially costly blow related to the vehicles it makes.

Federal agencies are seeing a sudden spike in the number of fatal accident complaints linked to Toyota vehicles.

“The Detroit News” cites the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in reporting the total number of alleged deaths since the year 2000 related to claims of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles has reached 34.

The increase has occurred since the automaker began recalling millions of vehicles.

A congressional committee investigating the Toyota recalls says the 34 alleged deaths are more than all other manufacturers combined when it comes to accidents involving unintended acceleration.

Toyota recalled five-point-four-million vehicles in the U.S. because gas pedals could become trapped by improperly installed floormats.

Another two-point-three-million vehicles have been recalled for potentially balky pedal assemblies.

Toyota has also recalled 437-thousand Prius vehicles and other hybrid models due to braking concerns.

Toyota says it will review the new reports.

Spokeswoman Martha Voss says, quote, “we take all customer reports seriously and will, of course, look into new claims.”

By Mari A. Schaefer

Inquirer Staff Writer

The driver of the car who was huffing before she struck two pedestrians, killing one outside Delaware County Memorial Hospital pleaded guilty today to homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, aggravated assault and a drug charge.

Rachael Jankins, 20, of Havertown was sentenced to four-and-a-half to 10 years in prison. She also received six years probation and will have to pay more than $18,000 in restitution.

 On Aug. 14, Jankins’ car struck Nicole Gallo, 19, of Clifton Heights, and Christine Bochanski, 20, of Lansdowne. Gallo was killed instantly. Bochanski needed surgery for a broken back.

 According to court documents, Jankins told police that at the time of the accident she was distracted while changing a song on her iPod. She admitted to police that she had drunk whiskey and smoked marijuana the night before. Her blood tested positive for marijuana and difluoroethane, a chemical in compressed air used to clean computers.

Posted November 13, 2009

By Jessie-Lynne Kerr, jacksonville.com

A Circuit Court jury in Flagler County Thursday returned a $5.1 million verdict in a wrongful death case stemming from a 2006 fatal collision between a fully loaded tractor-trailer and a Honda minivan.

Ingrid Falkenstein, 67, who had just retired to Palm Coast with her husband, David Falkenstein, was killed instantly in the wreck. Her husband suffered a pelvic fracture among other injuries.

Falkenstein’s attorney, Steve Pajcic of Jacksonville, presented evidence that showed trucker Christopher Angland of Palatka, driving for McMaster Sod LLC of Bunnell, ran a stop sign at Cody’s Corner. The accident occurred about 6:30 p.m. May 18 at the well-known but isolated intersection in the southwest part of the county.

The defendants argued that the county was at fault because of poor signage at the intersection and a failure to replace worn rumble strips approaching the stop sign.

But the jury placed 60 percent of the blame on the driver, 40 percent on McMaster and none on the county. Pajcic said some of his most compelling evidence was a Valentine’s card that Falkenstein gave his wife in the first year of their 33-year marriage that pledged, “Our happiness is our wealth.”

Pajcic urged the jury to place the same value on their long marriage as the couple had themselves. He argued that reckless driving by a tired trucker had robbed the couple of their golden years of retirement.

Posted October 22, 2009 by courierpost.com

MOUNT VERNON, Ind. — A 9-year-old boy was killed and two people with him were hurt Wednesday night in an ATV accident in Posey County.

Authorities say the boy and a 12-year-old girl were passengers on an ATV driven by Phillip E. Gross on Maier Road south of Mount Vernon.

Shortly before 7 p.m., Gross lost control of the vehicle after striking a dog that had run into the roadway, Sheriff’s Deputy Dan Montgomery said in a statement.

All three occupants were thrown from the vehicle. The ATV then landed on Gross and the 9-year-old boy.

The boy was taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center by helicopter, but was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.

The 12-year-old girl was taken by ambulance to Deaconess Hospital, where she was treated and released.

Gross was taken by ambulance to St. Mary’s, where he was listed in stable condition this morning.

Authorities have not yet released the names of the juveniles or specified whether the three occupants are family members.

In addition to the sheriff’s office, Posey County EMS, Point Township Fire Department, Black Township Fire and Rescue and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources all responded to the wreck.

BY SCOTT FITZGERALD
LEE NEWSPAPERS
09/16/2009

MARION, Ill. — A 65-year-old Southern Illinois woman died days after she was burned in a fire in an operating room, a lawyer for her family says.

Attorney Robert Howerton of Marion says a state of Tennessee death certificate shows that Janice Diane McCall of Energy, Ill., died from thermal burns. Howerton said the death certificate has not been officially stamped and entered into a state ledger.

McCall was transferred to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, Tenn., for treatment of the burns she suffered while she was a patient in the operating room at Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion on Sept. 2. She died six days later.

A news release issued by Heartland Regional on Tuesday said the accidental fire was immediately extinguished by operating room personnel. No other injuries were reported.

Marion Fire Chief Jack Reed said he visited with hospital administrators on Wednesday morning after he got word of the fire through news reports.

The chief said he and hospital administrators will “try to ascertain the origin of the fire and what fueled it.”
“It may have involved a hospital gown she had on. We don’t know what may have flashed the fire on or within the patient,” Reed said.

Reed said early reports indicate the fire lasted 10 to 15 seconds in a very small area. Flash fires are brief and not sustained, consuming whatever fuels them very quickly, Reed said.

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, which accredits 17,000 hospitals nationwide, estimates that 100 to 200 fires ignite each year in hospital operating rooms.

Calls to Heartland Regional on Tuesday and Wednesday seeking comment were not returned.

Howerton said the McCall family was grief stricken over Janice McCall’s death.

“She was the center post for that family,” Howerton said.

Scott Fitzgerald is a reporter at the Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale.

By DANIELLE JOHNSON
Updated 10:47 PM EDT, Tue, Sep 15, 2009

Lower Township, N.J. police have charged John Lawless, 37, with death by auto after he crashed into another driver head-on, on Route 9 Saturday night. Fredrick Shelton, 50, died at the scene. Police said Lawless has a history of drunken driving, according to the Press of Atlantic City.

Shelton, who was driving a 1996 Ford Escort, was traveling south on Route 9. He approached the intersection with Bennetts Crossing when a northbound 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible driven by Lawless collided with his car. The crash sent Shelton’s vehicle spinning into the intersection before it came to a stop facing northbound in the southbound lane, according to the paper.

Also in the car with Shelton was his wife, Sherri, 44, and 13-year old daughter, were both taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Investigators said Lawless had his Pa. license suspended in 2001 and has a history of drunken driving arrests.

“The bottom line here is this man should not have been operating a motor vehicle on any highway, in any state based on his suspended driving privileges and record of previous DWI arrests,” Lower Township Police Chief Edward Donohue told the paper.

Lawless is being treat at AtlantiCare Medical Center and is under guard by Lower Township police. He will be placed in Cape May County jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.