Toyota sued over accelerated accident

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- In a lawsuit filed on Friday in Los Angeles, a widow sought compensation from Toyota over an incident caused by an alleged sudden unintended acceleration.

The incident injured Jacquelyn Donoghue, a 67-year-old nurse, and killed her husband, according to the lawsuit.

Donoghue filed the complaint against Toyota Motor Corp. and Toyota Motor Sales Inc. in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles. The Japanese automaker's North American sales offices are located in the South Bay, California.

The amount of compensation Donoghue is seeking is unknown.

The lawsuit followed several proposed class action complaints filed in the Los Angeles federal court.

Toyota has been sued in Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of all affected owners of the 2010-year Prius and the 2010 Lexus HS250h hybrid. Both models share the same braking system, which has been the object of consumer complaints.

According to the latest complaint, the accident occurred when Donoghue was driving home with her husband John in their 2006 Toyota Prius on a highway in Nebraska. Both were wearing seat belts.

Donoghue claims that as she drove, the Prius suddenly accelerated and went out of control, slamming into a Subaru Forester that was delivering mail on the side of the highway.

The passenger side of the Prius struck the rear of the Forester with so much force that John Donoghue was killed in the passenger seat. The vehicle continued off the highway, eventually stopping when it ran into a snow drift, according to the lawsuit.

Donoghue suffered serious injuries, including head trauma, a fractured shoulder, a broken jaw, and a collapsed lung, the suit states.

"Millions of Toyota vehicles were not equipped with a safety feature, known as brake-to-idle override, which enables drivers to override the electronic throttle and control the vehicle in the event of a sudden unintended acceleration," plaintiff attorney Robert J. Nelson said.

The lack of the safety feature, used by other automotive manufacturers, played a "direct role" in the death of John Donoghue, Nelson added.