According to the Associated Press, on September 15, 2009 Toyota said it will order all dealers to inspect their cars for mismatched floor mats after a mat was suspected of snagging a gas pedal on a runaway Lexus, ending with a fiery crash in Santee, San Diego County that killed CHP Officer Mark Saylor, 45, his wife Cleofe, 45, their daughter Mahala, 13, and Saylor’s brother-in-law, Chris Lastrella, 38. The accident occurred on August 28 on State Route 125. The vehicle was doing more than 120 mph when it hit a SUV, launched off an embankment, rolled several times and burst into flames. The SUV driver sustained moderate injuries.
1,400 Toyota and Lexus dealers nationwide are to be issued an order to make sure each of their vehicles (new, used and loaner) had the proper floor mats that the mats were properly secured. The vehicle being driven by the family was a 2009 Lexus ES 350 that was loaned by a dealer, Bob Baker Lexus El Cajon, while their own vehicle was being serviced. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a rubber all-weather floor mat found in the wreckage was a couple of inches longer than the mat that belonged in the vehicle and could have snared or covered the accelerator pedal. The floor mat was from a different Lexus
A 911 call was made by Chris Lastrella approximately a minute before the crash to say that the accelerator was stuck and the vehicle had no brakes. The call ends with someone telling people in the car to hold on and pray, followed by a woman’s scream.
