We've just learned that Toyota inked a $10 million settlement with the family of a California Highway Patrol officer, his wife, his daughter and his brother-in-law, who were all killed in a fiery crash in San Diego last August.
The settlement, which was inked in September, was with the family of CHP officer Mark Saylor of Chula Vista. Saylor dropped off his regular vehicle for servicing and received a loaner 2009 Lexus ES 350 from Bob Baker Lexus El Cajon.
While driving the Lexus, Saylor called 911 just after 6:30 p.m. the Friday evening after receiving the loaner car to report that his accelerator was stuck. Witnesses said the car was traveling northbound on state Route 125 in Santee at more than 100 mph when it entered a T-intersection with Mission Gorge Road.
The vehicle slammed into the rear end of a Ford Explorer and then plowed over a curb and through a fence before hitting an embankment and going airborne. It rolled several times before stopping and bursting into flames in the nearby San Diego River basin.
The CHP said those killed were Saylor, 45; his wife, Cleofe, 45; his daughter, Mahala, 13; and his brother-in-law, Chris Lastrella, 38.
The crash, and other incidents prompted NHTSA to recall 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles for potential pedal entrapment of driver's side floor mats.
Above is the scary 911 call from Saylor.
Toyota and the families had moved to keep the amount of the settlement secret, but the request was denied by a Superior Court judge Monday. The amount was confirmed Thursday by Larry Willis, an attorney for Bob Baker Lexus, the loaning dealership.