KRIS

Posted : Feb 4, 2010 6:22 PM
Updated: Feb 4, 2010 7:25 PM

CORPUS CHRISTI - This latest local lawsuit involving Toyota was just filed yesterday on behalf of the family of 80-year-old Aurora Arkins.

She was killed in a traffic accident near the J.C. Elliott landfill back in July, and her family blames the tragedy on the 2006 Toyota Corolla she was driving at the time of the accident.

In their lawsuit, one of the claims her family makes is that sudden acceleration caused by a defect in her Toyota was the reason she was speeding and got into an accident.

The most highly contested issue is whether Arkins was wearing a seatbelt or not.

Contrary to what police said at the time, the family's attorney, Jeff Wigington, argues in the suit that she was wearing a seatbelt.

In fact, Wigington says that seatbelt was found intact after the accident.

The lawsuit states, "Although properly restrained, due to the lack of crash worthiness and the effectively designed vehicle restraint system in the Toyota Corolla, Aurora Arkins suffered catastrophic personal injuries, resulting in her death."

The suit claims there have been numerous complaints about the unintended acceleration in the 2006 Corolla, like the one in this accident.

The lawsuit states, "The Toyota defendants failed to include the 2006 Corolla vehicles in the worldwide recall."

Arkin's family is seeking punitive damages from Toyota, but no amount is given in the lawsuit.

We contacted Toyota officials about the suit, and they had no comment about the case.