FIRST ON ORLANDOSENTINEL.COM Sudden acceleration considered in day care crash

The Florida Highway Patrol acknowledged Thursday that it's investigating whether a mechanical defect caused a Toyota to race out of control as it crashed into a Central Florida day care, killing one child and injuring 13 other children and one adult.

The 2006 Toyota Solara convertible, driven by Albert Campbell on April 9, was struck by a hit-and-run driver on Goldenrod Road before heading at increasing speed into the KinderCare Learning Center, according to witness accounts and FHP's initial crash report.

The same make, model and year were named in a lawsuit against Toyota settled for $1.6 billion in July. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Toyota owners complaining of lost resale value after sudden-acceleration complaints.

Toyota was fined $1.2 billion last month by the U.S. Department of Justice for misleading motorists about a faulty electronic-throttle system, attorney Eric Snyder said Thursday. Snyder is a partner in Bailey & Glasser, one of the law firms continuing to litigate these cases.

Years of complaints about Toyotas unexpectedly speeding, despite drivers' efforts to stop, prompted FHP traffic-homicide investigators to check Campbell's car.

"FHP is looking into every aspect of this crash, including the possibility of sudden acceleration," spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Montes said Thursday.

"The investigating troopers will establish the path the vehicle took into the building to help determine if there were mechanical failures with the vehicle," she said.

It is unknown what Campbell told FHP after the crash, and his attorney, Stuart Hyman of Orlando, would not comment.

One of the unanswered questions about the crash is how a rear-end collision 100 feet from the building could send the Toyota through a front wall made of brick and cedar siding, into a classroom, and then push debris 70 feet across the floor before stopping.

A building inspection shortly after the crash found the 12-feet section of largely wood wall that the Toyota drove through had been damaged by termites, according to the Orange County Division of Building Safety.

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FIRST ON ORLANDOSENTINEL.COM Sudden acceleration considered in day care crash