Kent Fly gone, in Chicago
LA Times remembers the Toyota SUA dead
Date: Aug. 26, 2008
Victim: Kent Fly
Location: Chicago
Model: 2006 Lexus ES330
Details: Willette Green said she was heading to work in her Lexus, driving northbound along Interstate 94 in the Chicago area, when she applied the brakes to merge into the right lane. But rather than slowing, she said, the car accelerated out of her control, off the freeway and onto surface streets.
"The car kept getting faster and faster and when I looked up all I could see were red lights," said Green, now 62. "I was just hitting everything in front of me."
The car barreled through a fence and hit a concrete pillar before finally coming to a stop. But not before striking a pedestrian, Kent Fly, who died days later, according to his lawyer.
Green was injured and could not return to work for two months.
"My back, my neck, my arms," she said, felt "like somebody beat me up."
Green said Toyota inspected her smashed car then sent her a letter stating there was no mechanical failure.
Green was cited for speeding, but faced no criminal charges. An attorney who represented Fly said the family sued Green's insurance company and reached a settlement.
Green said she has retained a lawyer and sued Toyota, claiming negligence and product liability.
The Lexus ES330 in not included in Toyota's recent recalls.
When I'm dead and buried, don't you weep after me
When I'm dead and buried, don't you weep after me