Northridge Woman Sued in Crash that Killed 5

Northridge, CA The parents of one of five people killed in Ontario in December after an out-of-control car drove off the San Bernardino (10) Freeway and hit another vehicle near an offramp are suing Toyota and Avis, alleging the car driven by the woman allegedly responsible for the crash went out of control due to sudden-acceleration.

Donald and Maureen Pusateri, the father and mother of 29-year-old Matthew Pusateri of Mission Viejo, filed the wrongful death/products liability suit Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court. Donald Pusateri lives in Mission Viejo and Maureen Pusateri resides in Hemet.

The suit seeks inspecified damages.

A Toyota spokesman previously issued a statement regarding other incidents involving their cars and sudden-acceleration problems, saying the company has "made fundamental changes to become a more responsive and customer- focused organization and we are committed to continued improvements."

An Avis representative did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment.

According to the lawsuit, Berta Orellana, who also is a defendant, rented a 2015 Toyota Yaris from an Avis location in Northridge on Dec. 31 so that she could take a family trip to Las Vegas.

At about 7 p.m. that day, the Yaris began to accelerate uncontrollably while Orellna was driving east on the freeway, the CHP said previously. Orellana drove off the freeway at the Vineyard Avenue exit and struck the second car, a Toyota Solara being driven north on Vineyard, according to the CHP..

Killed in the Solara along with Matthew Pusateri were Jeffrey Willey, 29, of Huntington Beach; and Monica Flores, 37, of Arcadia; and Anthony Flores, 30, of Hemet.

Michael Pineda, Orellana's 7-year-old grandson who was riding with her in the Yaris, died later at a hospital.

Orellana, along with a 16-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl who were her other passengers, survived the crash with injuries.

Toyota was aware the Yaris had a "propensity for sudden acceleration and/or loss of control without the ability to stop by the user," the suit states.

Avis was notified of the problems with the Yaris cars, but "failed to correct, change or warn of the known problems with the vehicle prior to (Orellana's) use thereof," the suit states.

The suit also attributes the crash to Orellana's alleged negligent driving of the Yaris.

In March 2014, Toyota agreed to pay $1.2 billion in the largest criminal penalty ever imposed on a car company in U.S. history. The Justice Department found Toyota lied to regulators, Congress and the public for years about the sudden acceleration of its vehicles.

City News Service; Photo: Wikimedia Commons