Experts inspect Toyota involved in fatal St. Paul crash
A Toyota Camry involved in a fatal 2006 crash is being inspected today to find out whether there were problems with the car's accelerator.
Automotive experts hired by the Ramsey County Attorney's office and an attorney for Koua Fong Lee, the driver in that crash, were conducting a two-day inspection starting Tuesday.
Lee has been in prison since being convicted in 2007 of criminal vehicular homicide in the crash, which killed three people.
Lee's attorneys, as well as attorneys for the victims, want Lee to be released from prison based on reports of Toyota defects and recalls related to sudden acceleration. They also want a new trial ordered for Lee.
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"Once the results of this inspection are known, we hope Mr. Lee will be quickly granted a new trial so a jury can hear all of the facts of this case," Lee's attorney, Robert Hilliard, said in a written statement.
Hilliard is handling several cases involving people involved in Toyota crashes.
Lee has said he tried to brake after he exited Interstate 94 in St. Paul. Prosecutors have said the car was going 80 to 90 mph when it crashed into another car.
Lee's 1996 Camry wasn't subject to the most recent Toyota recalls, but his car was subject to a separate recall involving sudden acceleration that could happen while a car is in cruise control.
