Andrew and Tetyana Flury were out celebrating their wedding anniversary two years ago when their lives changed forever. As they approached an intersection in Baltimore, Andrew pressed on the brakes of his 2005 Toyota Echo, but he said the car would not stop.
In fact, he said, it sped up.
"We accelerated into the intersection where we were impacted by an SUV," Flury said. The Pasadena, Md., couple was immediately knocked unconscious, and Andrew stayed in a coma for more than a month with traumatic brain injury. He still has not recovered from the April 2008 crash.
"I am now partially paralyzed on the right side of my body and have serious cognitive impairments that will affect me for the rest of my life," he said. He has not been able to return to his job since the crash.
On Wednesday, the Flurys filed a lawsuit against Toyota. The lawsuit claims the automaker knew about the problem years ago, but did nothing.
"Toyota never made any significant changes to improve the acceleration and electrical systems of its vehicles, in spite of the availability of several safe and inexpensive modifications," attorney Robert Nelson said.
In the past month, Toyota has recalled 8.5 million vehicles because of problems with sudden acceleration.
