LOS ANGELES — Toyota Motor Corp. has agreed to pay $10 million to the family of four people killed in a runaway(失控的) Lexus crash that led to recalls of millions of the automaker's vehicles.
John Gomez, a lawyer who represents(代表) the victims' family, and Larry N. Willis, who represents the dealership(经销商) that lent the Lexus to the family, on Thursday confirmed the settlement amount.
Toyota, which did not admit or deny liability(责任) in the settlement, fought to keep the settlement amount confidential(机密的), but the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press argued that the public's interest in the case outweighed confidentiality concerns.
A Superior Court(高级法院) judge on Monday agreed, but imposed a gag order(司法限制言论令) in case the family wanted to appeal(上诉). They did not appeal, allowing lawyers to release the amount.
Toyota said in a statement it was disappointed the amount had been made public.
"As is common in these cases, these parties agreed to keep the amount confidential, in part to protect the families from unwanted solicitations(引起注意) and to allow them to move on from this difficult period," the automaker said.
The August 2009 crash killed off-duty California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor, 45, his wife, their daughter and Saylor's brother-in-law.
They were killed on a suburban(城郊的) San Diego freeway when their car reached speeds of more than 120 mph, struck a sport utility vehicle, launched off an embankment(路堤), rolled several times and burst into flames.
Investigators determined that a wrong-size floor mat(垫子) trapped the accelerator(加速器，油门) and caused the crash.