Lexus Driver Crashes And Blames Defect | blames, crashes, defect - Local News - WTVC NewsChannel 9: Chattanooga News, Weather, Radar, Sports, Lottery
A north Georgia man trusted his Toyota made Lexus, but says he ended up injured and trapped at the bottom of a ravine this weekend when his car wouldn't stop.
And the driver blames the floor mat interference recall connected to his car. Mark Greenway's 2009 Lexus turned his life upside down.
Greenway says Toyota should have moved faster in getting dealerships to fix this problem, especially with lives on the line. He went through the scariest ride of his life Saturday night n his immaculate 2009 Lexus IS 250.
Just like cars this afternoon, Greenway negotiated the "S" curves on his way back to his Ellijay home, but he never made it. He recalled his first thought when he stepped on the brake and his engine raced. "To stop it, the more I tried to stop it, it didn't stop," Greenway said.
His model was one of many Toyota manufactured under recall for floor mat pedal entrapment. And he says his failed to perform at a critical moment, leaving him with a helpless feeling of no control. Before this crash, the 57 year old Greenway told NewsChannel 9 he had only one speeding ticket. And when he went through this curvy road, he hit his brakes, but the exact opposite reaction happened.
"When I touched the brake to go around the curves, the engine raced it revved up," and Greenway said it wouldn't stop accelerating. "That's the last thing I remember before it went off the bluff."
Greenway careened about 60 feet down into a ravine. The crash broke his right arm and he was trapped for about two hours. Cars passing above couldn't hear his horn, see his lights and he kept sliding as he tried to crawl up this bank. Using his left hand, he got to his cell phone and called 9-1-1.
But this could've be been prevented. He received his notice from Toyota last October. It warned of "wide open position," "very high vehicle speeds," "difficult to stop."
And about five weeks ago, Greenway took his Lexus in for service at the Atlanta dealership where he bought it, but says actually repairing it did not seem urgent. "When I took it to the dealership, they didn't seem very much interested in the recall notice or taking over of what was going on," Greenway said.
And as he climbed the mountain about 20 seconds before this panic-filled crash, Greenway's Lexus gave a hint of the waiting danger. "I felt there was something a little bit odd, it was like a surge, but it only lasted a second or two."
Greenway bought his car at Nalley Lexus in Smyrna. We are waiting to hear back from its service manager. The Lexus owner told NewsChannel 9 the dealership was in the process of setting up a repair appointment, but he says Toyota should have made this top priority. The Georgia State Patrol is investigating this crash but isn't finished with its report. It is not releasing any details. Greenway added that his insurance company, State Farm, is investigating as well. We contacted State Farm. Our questions were forwarded to a corporate communication specialist at the home base. We were told without the owner's written permisssion, it could not comment about the specifics of the claim. Kip Diggs of State Farm added, "we look at the facts in every claim that is brought to us. We will make our decisions on the claim based on those facts."
» Wheel & Tire Center
