Report: NHTSA investigating NH Toyota Highlander crash that killed four
 

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/suvs/" rel="tag">SUV</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/government-legal/" rel="tag">Government/Legal</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/recalls-tsbs/" rel="tag">Recalls</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/safety/" rel="tag">Safety</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/toyota/" rel="tag">Toyota</a></p><a href="http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2010/04/27/federal_agency_to_examine _toyota_in_fatal_crash/?page=1"><img vspace="4" hspace="0" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/04/highlander-630.jpg" /></a><br />
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The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) is looking into an accident involving a <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/model/highlander">Toyota Highlander</a> that claimed the lives of four motorists last year. Stephen Lagakos was driving with his wife and mother in New Hampshire when the vehicle sped up, passed a number of other vehicles on the shoulder and then crossed traffic. The Highlander struck a Chevrolet Malibu in the oncoming lane driven by Stephen Krause. No one survived.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/16/nhtsa-launching-probe-into-timeliness-of-three-toyota-recalls/">NHTSA</a> is investigating the possibility that the crash was caused by unintended acceleration. Witnesses reported that Lagakos had been following the other drivers on the road for miles, giving proper following distance the entire time. When the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/make/toyota/">Toyota</a> sped past, the driver had both hands on the wheels and looked as if he was trying to avoid an accident.<br />
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So far, there's no indication as to whether or not the Lagakos vehicle had been serviced under Toyota's expansive recall. The 2008-2010 Highlander fell under the same January recall that brought in models like the Corolla, Venza, Matrix and Pontiac Vibe.<br />
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According to <em>The Boston Globe</em>, Toyota has expressed its sympathy for the families of the victims of the accident, and underscored its commitment to making all of its products safe to drive.<br />
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[Source: <a href="http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2010/04/27/federal_agency_to_examine _toyota_in_fatal_crash/?page=1">The Boston Globe</a>]<p style="padding:5px;backgr ound:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/27/report-nhtsa-investigating-nh-toyota-highlander-crash-that-kill/">Report: NHTSA investigating NH Toyota Highlander crash that killed four</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblo g</a> on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:31:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/27/report-nhtsa-investigating-nh-toyota-highlander-crash-that-kill/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19456008/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/27/report-nhtsa-investigating-nh-toyota-highlander-crash-that-kill/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>

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