Noriko Uno was on her way to the bank to deposit cash from her family’s sushi restaurant when she was hit by another car. The impact caused her 2006 Camry to accelerate out of control, and for half a mile she struggled to steer the vehicle against oncoming traffic. She ended up slamming into two telephone poles, eventually colliding with a pepper tree. She died on impact.
A brake override safety system (BOSS) could have stopped the car, Garo Mardirossian, Uno’s attorney, told jurors in Los Angeles on Thursday during opening statements in the first bellwether trial against Toyota Motor Corp. over acceleration defects. But Toyota didn’t install such a safety system, he said. And now Uno’s husband, Peter, and son, Jeffery, are asking for $20 million in damage.
