Car Karma, SUA accident and ??vindication??

SUA, accident and vindication…Car Karma

....and protection of guardian angels, much gratitude. but changes are inevitable and a major move is being planned for sometime this summer or possibly early autumn…

Saturday, (4/21) I decided to go to the local garden store (they were having an anniversary sale 25% off) so I got 3 tomato plants, some salad greens, some herbs and an artichoke (we'll see if that grows!)...then I went to the grocery store to get some 1/2 & 1/2 and sour cream...

BUT, upon leaving, I managed to get into an accident before getting out of the parking lotand am now "confined to quarters" so to speak, wings clipped, car not drivable at the moment.... and I am taking this as a "wakeup call", as some of you you know I have been talking about moving to be with my kids, and this just pushed the decision to do just that into a priority position... for the time, I am sticking close to home, my neighbor is being very helpful as far as getting me to town for groceries, etc., so all is well, just a bit inconvenient for the moment, since I live five miles out of town up in the  hills about 1000 feet up windy "mountain" roads from town, walking, for me is NOT an option!!!. 

I am OK, basically bruised from the deployment of the air bags and a bruised ego, and badly bruised car (smashed up broken windshield - from the air bags, & smashed in  front end).

Strange how these things happen, as I was putting my groceries in the trunk there was a local city policeman who drove by and waved at me for some reason, and I smiled back and continued about my business... as I was driving out to the stop light leaving the parking lot, the light had just turned red, and a large pickup truck stopped in front of me, and as I tried to stop, what I thought was that  my shoe or shoe lace gotten caught under the brake pedal, and I could not get my foot out from under the brake pedal, as the brake was not able to stop the car before I tail ended the pickup, which had a large trailer hitch just about the level of my license plate... so my front end connected with it which did stop the car!

 Fortunately neither he, nor his vehicle were damaged, but I was quite shaken up, and within seconds the policeman I mentioned above was at my door asking if I was OK, he opened the door and asked if I could get out...as the fumes from the airbags are noxious, and so, he basically handled the whole thing from there on, calling AAA for a tow truck, taking the report, and seeing to it that I got over into the shade to wait while the tow truck came (it was almost 90 degrees...), the tow truck loaded up my car, then took us both home... I was shaking for some time, then the adrenaline kicked in, so I was pacing about once I got home, called both the kids, then called AAA. The next day I did a lot of resting, and recovering, but nothing seems to be seriously injured.  I am SO fortunate that it was only the car that got broken, and no one was injured, other than my bruises I mentioned.

I was told that AAA would send someone out to look at the car the coming week, the tow truck driver said that since the air bags were deployed, that they may decide to total the car because fixing them and the damage may be too costly... The  woman I spoke to at AAA was really caring and  helpful, suggested a rental car while mine is being repaired, but I said I would wait until the adjuster came out to discuss what I need to do and what my options are (probably Tues or Weds)... Meanwhile, my neighbor has offered me the use of one of his cars if I need to go to town... (not sure I am ready to drive just yet), but good to know its available if I need it.

Later, in talking with my daughter, it seems that this is a kind of a push to get the moving started... I have been resisting it for almost two years, but this just shows me how vulnerable I am being alone and so far from town here, so its kind of like a "wake up call, push" to get the process going.  My body's ability balance and leg strength is problematic,  and although I do not want to admit it, there are limitations as to what I am able to do... so I think it is time to listen to the warning...aiming for summer???

Bruises are large, and ugly, but no pain involved, starting to go away a little and covered by my clothes, so not an issue. Turns out the only insurance I have is liability, so getting the car fixed will be an issue... taking baby steps on getting the issue resolved.

When I cleaned the glass out of the car, I realized how fortunate I am that I did not get any cuts or glass in my eyes, it was pretty bad...(thank you guardian angels!!). I was going to try to put the car into the garage in order to get it out of the rain, etc., and discovered that the accelerator was stuck full on... then remembered that the police officer mentioned that he had heard the engine racing just before it stopped... so have been in touch with my attorney, will have to have car checked for a "manufacturing defect" possibility, don't know if that will prove helpful, but I did speak to the police officer again yesterday, and he remembers that he had noticed that, and would be willing to testify to that in court if I determine it is worth while to file a "truthful suit" against Toyota, my attorney said that due to the age of my car, the cost to pursue it may not be worthwhile, so still on "hold”.

My neighbor is being extremely helpful, offered me the use of one of his cars, but after the scare of trying to move the car, I am still not quite ready to attempt driving... he had a meeting this AM with some of his buddies at the grocery store coffee area, so gave me a ride into town to get a few groceries today... he said he would look at the car in a few days when his back feels better...if he can get the hood open... and my son is due to have some time off after May 5, so probably nothing much will get resolved until then.  Meanwhile, I am sticking close to home (not much choice) and have upgraded the decision to move into a higher priority.... as my ex “wasband” says, getting older is the pits...!!!

Weather is very unsettled here at present, was hot last weekend, now raining off and on and temperature has dropped 40 degrees... even had a little hail today. 

My neighbor suggested I check the Internet for the acceleration problem... apparently Toyota has had many issues with this, and there is a lot of information on what is now termed SUA (sudden unintended acceleration ), and even several law firms that specialize in these cases.  Here are a few short excerpts from the interaction with one of those specialized law firms…

Visitor: My incident occurred on 4-21 when I was leaving a parking lot and when I tried to brake for a traffic signal my accelerator "went off" according to the police officer who was nearby and assisted me when I rear-ended a pickup truck in front of me. My question is this.. is it possible that this is a problem in my Toyota, which is a 1994 Celica? Thanks - I am in California.
Tina: We may be able to help you with that. Do you mind explaining the situation in a bit more detail?
Visitor: No problem, it may take a moment.
Tina: Please go ahead. Take your time.
Visitor: I was just leaving the grocery store, and came to the traffic light at the exit driveway. A pickup truck had stopped for the light. When I attempted to stop behind him, my car "went off" according to the officer, and I hit the trailer hitch in the rear of the pickup. I was not going any more than 5 mph, but was not able to make the car stop, and the officer said he heard the accelerator gunning.. the impact made the air bags deploy, and the front of the car is smashed in, the windshield is badly broken. ... etc... (edited out for brevity)

Visitor: BTW, the floor mat on the driver’s side was removed a year ago, and there is no additional mat, other than the standard carpeting.

Short story... both my prepaid legal attorney and the attorney from one of these law firms said that I probably do not have a case.  One since my car is too old (1994) and the second one because there were no injuries.  Apparently this "issue" ( of SUA) began with the 1998 and newer models...

Total irony is that now there are a total of 4 cars on the property here, none of which are drivable... life is strange sometimes.  My daughters comment to me this AM was "you are not really as independent as you would like to think that you are."  Too true... so it looks like the next 3 or 4 months will be preparing to move to SM, then it will be a marathon moving of "stuff”... will be busy times.

Well in the continuing saga... my neighbor has been getting me to the grocery store on Mon & Thurs.... expect my son to get here next Monday..

Weather here is windy and rain expected for tomorrow... but I have put in all the plants into the garden plus planted all the leftover seeds from last year,  plus a few new snow peas...bought some marigolds and petunias last trip to town, needed some flowers around... for my mood...

This morning, Sir Harold (my neighbor, who I have just dubbed my white knight, Sir Harold as of this AM), was able to open the hood of the car and look at the situation.  The good news is that there is NO damage under the hood, radiator not even touched, everything else fine... but he made a very interesting discovery... There is a small cable that attaches to the accelerator (throttle?) and a piece - sort of a small cylindrical bar which has a hole in it that a small pin is supposed to fit into I think, to somehow connect with the cruise control.  In this hole was a small VERY OLD RUSTY BENT NAIL!!!.   When he took out the nail, the cable for the cruise control slides off of the cylindrical bar, which I am not sure how this is supposed to work, but in any case the throttle was stuck when he looked at it. He had me get into the car, pump the gas pedal once then start it in neutral with the both the parking brake and foot brake on, and the engine raced up to 4K rpm immediately. Then he "unstuck" the system (he worked as a mechanic before he retired - I don't know the particulars, but he made it so it was no longer stuck full on.) So my SUA event was for real, but not the fault of Toyota.  His assessment was that the problem was caused by this "nail fix" that had been done - by his estimate perhaps even before I bought the car used in 1995, by the looks and condition of the nail, or some mechanic who had worked on the car a very long time ago.. So to fix it, would only mean replacing or unbending the  front bumper, replacing one headlight and the windshield and replacing the dash and airbags... but in order to just  drive it around town, it is probably safe enough to drive without doing much to the interior ( dash/airbag situation) and once those things are done.... there is no longer a working cruise control, but for around town that is not an issue.  So my guardian angels were on high alert and had a bit of extra duty, but made sure the accident happened in a parking lot vs. on the highway which was a major blessing...

Still on track for a move, but perhaps not as much of a rush?  As it is, there is a huge amount of stuff to do, take care of,  decide about whether to pack, store or get rid of, then there are deferred maintenance projects on the house as well.. planning stage right now, getting boxes and organizing packing, etc....

And I will be inviting people to come here and “selling” some of my treasures that I can no longer keep for “pennies on the dollar” so stay tuned in if you are interested… will likely be mid summer before I am organized enough to pull this part of the project off,

'Til Next Time,

Merlyn