Edith Pandur, 88, killed when car crashes off cliff at Edgewater Park in Cleveland on May 25.

Toyota's electronic throttle control system software was found to have glitches that could cause such an event. Worse, such an electronic glitch could render the fail-safe (way to stop the SUA) INEFFECTIVE. Result? The Toyota could be a runaway stoppable only by impact. Even then, the engine will continue revving forward until something stops forward (or backward as the case may be) momentum. What has Toyota admitted to regarding ELECTRONIC sudden unintended acceleration? Absolutely nothing, of course! It has washed its corporate hands clean of all things SUA-related since that huge $1.2 BILLION DOJ settlement. In the meantime, the NHTSA and Toyota have received countless complaints about Toyota and Lexus vehicles "taking off," "having a mind of its own," "going airborne," etc. Storefront crashes and crashes-into-buildings/homes continue with a disproportionate number attributed to Toyota and Lexus vehicles. There's a HUGE push to show driver "pedal misapplication" and much reference to this being a problem with "elderly" drivers. Drivers own complaints (showing remarkable similarity if one compares notes among these types of accidents) are discounted. Worse, drivers are discredited...some say even targeted...by those who wish to keep the truth from surfacing. Let's see...have we seen an automaker hide key safety-related information before? Have we seen any cases where the NHTSA has even covered for an automaker in such unconscionable actions? OK...you get the idea. THINK...why would an automaker wish to keep ELECTRONIC sudden unintended acceleration a secret? After all, isn't SUA history and just about pesky floor mats, sticky accelerator pedals, or better-yet driver error? NO! That's just what the automaker would like you to believe...and there's a HUGE economic reason for that, isn't there? Unfortunately, what you do not know about ELECTRONICALLY-induced SUA can be an issue as many of the current SUA victims are learning the hard way. An electronic sudden unintended acceleration event can result (and has!) in jail time for the driver. Why? Speculation of "pedal misapplication" is all that is left when the historically-unreliable EDR (black box) shows no braking even when the driver has two feet on the brake and incurs foot damage (see Tanya Spotts Lexus case). The Toyota electronic throttle control system software glitch has been found not to leave a fault code. The vehicle brakes which did NOT function at the time of the ETCS-i software glitch show no signs of a failure mode. The DRIVER is assumed GUILTY and the vehicle is found fault-free. It continues to happen DAILY. Absence of proof is NOT proof of absence. This electronic SUA problem is one that every driver should be concerned about. Drivers should be asking some tough questions of the automaker, Toyota specifically. Let's not forget that these engines are complex and computer-driven. Electronics will have glitches. The important factor is how these glitches are handled within and what safety standards have been applied. An electronic software glitch which renders a fail-safe ineffective is totally unacceptable. Don't make assumptions that strict safety standards have been applied when they have not!

Regardless of recently updated news reports, the driver had just been in a horrible crash and may have jumped to conclusions regarding the cause, especially (NOT necessarily) if the vehicle is a Toyota. Parking is a common denominator for unintended acceleration crashes that suggest electronic defects in the throttle control. Read "Toyota's killer firmware: Bad design and its consequences." Embedded systems expert Michael Barr found electronic defects galore, resulting in a guilty verdict in the landmark unintended acceleration case last October in Oklahoma: * Toyota's electronic throttle control system (ETCS) source code is of unreasonable quality. * Toyota's source code is defective and contains bugs, including bugs that can cause unintended acceleration (UA) * Code-quality metrics predict presence of additional bugs. * Toyota's fail safes are defective and inadequate (referring to them as a 'house of cards' safety architecture). * Misbehaviours of Toyota's ETCS are a cause of UA To show fairness to drivers, runaway vehicles (Toyota is the brand most often involved) require examinations far beyond the expertise of even a highly trained auto mechanic. And a number of runaway vehicle cases in the past two months - one caught on video - have demonstrated that such events are certainly not limited to elderly drivers. I've been blogging about the electronics issue - search "Beware of Toyota. Their next victim may be YOU..."

it is sad that her mom died . i hope and pray that her daughter karen is okay as i knew her in her younger years and she was good then. my thoughts are with the family now at the time of need.