08/03/2010 // WPB, FL, USA // Nicole Howley // Nicole Howley
Las Vegas, NV—A stuck floor mat wedged against the gas pedal on a Toyota company truck led to a fatal crash that killed a Nevada delivery truck driver, according to a newly filed lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed against Toyota Motor Corp. and a local dealer who inspected the mat while changing a flat tire, as reported by the Associated Press.
Jeffery Mark Levine, 55, has finished his shift on December 17, 2009, and was on his usual 100-mile route home to Las Vegas, when his 2010 Toyota Tacoma company pickup truck slammed into the back of a motor home on U.S. 95, just outside of Searchlight. The driver of the motor home said he was traveling at 60 mph on cruise control. Levin wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, but his attorney claims that’s because he was trying to dislodge the mat from the accelerator when the crash occurred.
The lawsuit contends that the local dealer who inspected the truck and mat, Findlay Automotive Inc., even after Toyota advised dealerships to inspect the Tacoma models for “floor mat pedal entrapment” issues.
The Clark County coroner’s office found that “oxycodone intoxication” was a factor in Levine’s death, along with other multiple injuries. Levine apparently had a long-time back injury, which is why he had oxycodone in his system. Levine was cleared by his doctor to drive.
The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages for Levine’s wife, Kim, and their two sons, ages 13 and 6.
Legal News Reporter: Nicole Howley-Legal news for Nevada personal injury lawyers.
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