My Life after the Car Crash

I was driving out of an underground parking on a very narrow ramp in my 2014 Toyota Corolla.  I hit the wall on the right.  I shifted the car to reverse gear, lost the brakes and hit the wall behind me.  I inhaled, took a long exhale shifted the transmission to drive and WOW!!! My car took off like a bullet, zoomed up the ramp straight into a parked car pushing it into the window of the PIZZA HUT.

The exit ramp: You can see the black skid marks on the wall 

cause by many cars hitting this wall.

I have to say there were no injuries!  This happened on May 6 2016, about two months ago.  All this time I have been in contact with my auto insurance company, Toyota automotive company and California DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles).  I hardly had time or the mental state to do anything else with my life. There is some kind of resolution, but in no way is it final in my mind.

Ms. McCall and her car

The two cars had to be towed away.  The policeman at scene collected the information from all the parties, name, Driver License, registration, insurance.  He said there will be no police report as there are no injuries.

Initially I was certain there was some electrical malfunction in the car, and I am still convinced of that.  However my insurance company AAA never gave it a thought.  I kept telling my agent and her manager and their supervisor that there was something wrong with the car.  Finally the manager told me: “We are the insurance company, we pay for the damages of the accidents.  You are the owner of the car, you have to contact the manufacturer.”  So I did that, I called the Toyota of North America and filed a claim with them.  Toyota hired a third party US-BOSCH and they sent an expert to retrieve the crash data from the car.  He had to go to the storage yard downtown LA at a time when there was no auction.  He retrieved the files on May 31, and I have these files as well for my records.  Toyota had 30 days to complete their investigation. 

In the meantime my insurance company paid me for my totaled car and rushed me to return my rental car before the 30 day period in my policy.  I bought a new Mazda3.  AAA also paid for repair of the Pizza Hut window.  The parked car that was hit was also totaled.  The owner Ms. McCall was waiting for her pizza with her 10 yr old daughter.  The window crashed right next to them and caused them a scare.  The next day she hired a lawyer to sue for “emotional damage.”  She was paid for her totaled car and her Uber rides.  

As I was waiting for Toyota’s decision I tried to get an interpretation of the crash data.  There were 4 tables from different triggers showing essentially that in the last 5 seconds before the crash the speed went from 0 to 15 MPH while the accelerator was at 100%.  Some of my friends not in the car industry looked at this and concluded that the accelerator was stuck.  No manual effort can get the accelerator to 100%.  But many believed that I pushed the accelerator, mistaking it for the brake.  Most of all that manager in my insurance stated clearly: “The file shows your foot was on the accelerator.”

Four weeks later I received a brief letter from Toyota telling me that they found no manufacturing or design defect in the car.  They are sorry about my accident.

Not much left for me to do at this point except finish my re-examination by the DMV.  As there was a structure involved the driver has to give a recorded testimony in front of the safety examiner.  I also had to bring a form filled by my doctor that I am physically and mentally healthy to drive.  I had to practice all the questions in the written DMV test and I passed that test.  I am now studying online videos and taking driver safety courses so I can pass the driving test.