MinnLawyer Blog

Koua Fong Lee

I own a Toyota Camry. So do a lot of other people. Last year, I took my car into the dealership after I received a recall notice about a defect that was causing cars like mine to accelerate out of control.

There were stories in the news of other Camry drivers literally standing on the brake pedal as the careened down the freeway heroically dodging in and out of traffic. Some of these scenes ended in death or serious injury. Other stories ended when suddenly the car slowed down and returned to normal.
This recall notice seemed like something that I should take care of quickly. The errand moved to the top of the To Do List. I took the car to the dealership, handed the keys to the technician who told me they were staying open later hours to accommodate the number of people coming in. Some of the people didn’t own cars that were covered under the recall, but they wanted someone to tell them that to feel safe. Even with the crowds, the whole thing took about 40 minutes.
I don’t know if Koua Fong Lee is at fault for the 2006 crash that killed three people. I don’t know if his car accelerated out of control like he claims, or if he was simply driving too fast like the prosecutors argue. I do think the developments at the hearing yesterday to re-examine that crash and Fong Lee’s subsequent conviction don’t look good for the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said that Fong Lee’s car did not have anti lock brakes. The expert witness called by the defense said  said Fong Lee’s car did have ABS.
The distinction is important because there was no skid marks at the scene of the crash. The prosecution said that because there was no skid marks, Fong Lee wasn’t braking at the time of impact like he told police he was. The expert yesterday said there wouldn’t have been any skid marks because ABS brakes don’t leave skid marks when a driver hits the brakes.

It seems that was a detail the prosecution should have checked out back in 2006.