The loss of three young lives is sad beyond description. I’ve never lost a child but when I was searching for a missing dog the first place I liiked was in the trunks of the cars at my house. Luckily Pepper was in fact in the first car I looked in. I have no idea how she got there but if I were missing a child I would certaily look in the car(s) first.
How this is Toyota’s fault is beyond me. With $100,000 settlemnts at least we can be sure that no bottom feeding lawyers got huge fees for this. I hope and pray that the parents and families of these children can now get on with their lives.
The parents were guilty of negligent supervision and stupidity. Nobody bothered to check this car that was in their own yard and unlocked. They created an attractive nuisance. Even if there was an interior trunk lock it doesn’t mean the kids would have known about it. This was a gift for these money grubbing ghetto dwellers.
i agree. how is it toyota’s fault? afterall, even if they had placed safety latches into the vehicles, how do we know if the kids would have pulled it? it’s not toyota’s fault, it’s the parents fault for not taking the resposibility of knowing where their kids are. it’s not believing that your kids have made a bad decision. toyota did not ask the kids to enter the trunk of the vehicle and close the lid. toyota did not sign any paper agreeing to parental guidance and supervision of kids. where were the parents? granted the lawyers are not making any money, but it behooves me to think we want compensation for their own mistake. we want money to bury the kids because we might not have enough. or we want money to make our lives feel better. whatever the purpose, is that we can grieve for the loss of kids in a tragic incident. yet, it belongs to parents to be responsible! next thing you will tell me, is that this vehicle belongs to another person and they are responsible. where will it end to being a responsible parent?!
How is Toyota at all negligent here? Because they should have encouraged owners to install an aftermarket trunk release? Totally absurd.
And I’m sure the officers who helped with the search efforts will be so excited to respond to missing children calls now that they are all apparently being named individually in separate suits.
Maybe the parents could sue themselves and collect under their homeowners policy?
They should probably sue Obama & Pelosi; after all they should’ve done more to encourage Toyota to encourage its owners to install safety releases.
Maybe they should sue their attorneys for not getting a bigger settlement while they’re at it. $100,000? You can’t even get a Mercedes SL-500 for a paltry sum like that.
C’mon Lee. You were not personally impacted by this decision. Do you really feel it necessary to use your anonomous position to air such a nasty description? Since these people were in the news you can actually look them up and tell them how you feel. Let us know when you personally air your distaste for them tough guy.
This was classic “deep pockets” that, based on the propensity of jury sympathy, is pretty low when you think about it. Reasonable people will agree that Toyota has no blame in this matter as safety latches were not common in the model year of the car where these kids were found.
Okay if they got in the trunk then obviously they had the keys or the vehicle was unlocked to where they could get the trunk opened. So another point of the parents not paying attention. Did they just hide to play? If so why all of them in the trunk. A lot is fishy here and I can’t believe Toyota was sued and they paid even if only $100,000 still they had to pay something.
Jess and Dave…..you seem to hold the minority opinion here. These parents not only sued the vehicle manufacturer, they also have suits pending against the city, the mayor, the police department, individual officers, and “other law enforcement authorities”. The facts are fairly irrefutable as Lee pointed out. The parents knew the old car was parked in their yard and did nothing to prevent their kids from getting hurt on it. It should have been towed away or at least locked by them. It was an attractive nuisance that most parents with an ounce of sense should have done something about. These parents walked past this vehicle multiple times and never considered looking in the trunk???? By the time the police arrived the kids were already dead. So why are they suing??? MONEY. These parents and their “lawyers” think they can drum up some easy money by pointing the finger at everyone else and taking no responsibility themselves. Nobody deserves to profit from a tragedy of their own making.
“””””relatives looking for jumper cables found their bodies in the back of a broken-down Toyota Camry parked in the Cruz family’s yard.
“””””
Even if Toyota “encouraged” owners to put release systems in their trunk – the freeking vehicle was broken-down and probably on blocks for years…
Ever been to Camden??? The place is a rat-hole from the git-go. If they had the money to retro-fit the vehicle they most likely would have spent it on drugs or alcohol – Go to http://www.city-data.com and see what a lovely community you’re dealing with…Stats are overwhelming (per 100,000) 16% unemployed (e.g., welfare)Murders 42 Rape 32 Robberies 780 Assaults 865 Burglaries 1128, Theft 2311, Auto Theft 1161, Arson 115 – National Crime Average – 320.0 – Camden 1024.7… 51% less than HS Diploma…
These people deserve nothing because of their own stupidity – You can’t tell me they didn’t look in the car themselves – and now want to blame the police and city for thier own stupidity??? Easier than winning the lottery I guess
Kali. You are preaching to the choir. Read what I said about how a “reasonable person” would consider this verdict. Toyota got off lucky on this one when you consider the potential of jury sympathy. The system stinks. I get it. You did not read my post carefully. I only took issue with Lee’s choice of words. It was not necessary. To speak like that anonymously is cowardly. He will never face these people to vent his opinion.
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The loss of three young lives is sad beyond description. I’ve never lost a child but when I was searching for a missing dog the first place I liiked was in the trunks of the cars at my house. Luckily Pepper was in fact in the first car I looked in. I have no idea how she got there but if I were missing a child I would certaily look in the car(s) first.
How this is Toyota’s fault is beyond me. With $100,000 settlemnts at least we can be sure that no bottom feeding lawyers got huge fees for this. I hope and pray that the parents and families of these children can now get on with their lives.
The parents were guilty of negligent supervision and stupidity. Nobody bothered to check this car that was in their own yard and unlocked. They created an attractive nuisance. Even if there was an interior trunk lock it doesn’t mean the kids would have known about it. This was a gift for these money grubbing ghetto dwellers.
i agree. how is it toyota’s fault? afterall, even if they had placed safety latches into the vehicles, how do we know if the kids would have pulled it? it’s not toyota’s fault, it’s the parents fault for not taking the resposibility of knowing where their kids are. it’s not believing that your kids have made a bad decision. toyota did not ask the kids to enter the trunk of the vehicle and close the lid. toyota did not sign any paper agreeing to parental guidance and supervision of kids. where were the parents? granted the lawyers are not making any money, but it behooves me to think we want compensation for their own mistake. we want money to bury the kids because we might not have enough. or we want money to make our lives feel better. whatever the purpose, is that we can grieve for the loss of kids in a tragic incident. yet, it belongs to parents to be responsible! next thing you will tell me, is that this vehicle belongs to another person and they are responsible. where will it end to being a responsible parent?!
How is Toyota at all negligent here? Because they should have encouraged owners to install an aftermarket trunk release? Totally absurd.
And I’m sure the officers who helped with the search efforts will be so excited to respond to missing children calls now that they are all apparently being named individually in separate suits.
Maybe the parents could sue themselves and collect under their homeowners policy?
They should probably sue Obama & Pelosi; after all they should’ve done more to encourage Toyota to encourage its owners to install safety releases.
Maybe they should sue their attorneys for not getting a bigger settlement while they’re at it. $100,000? You can’t even get a Mercedes SL-500 for a paltry sum like that.
C’mon Lee. You were not personally impacted by this decision. Do you really feel it necessary to use your anonomous position to air such a nasty description? Since these people were in the news you can actually look them up and tell them how you feel. Let us know when you personally air your distaste for them tough guy.
This was classic “deep pockets” that, based on the propensity of jury sympathy, is pretty low when you think about it. Reasonable people will agree that Toyota has no blame in this matter as safety latches were not common in the model year of the car where these kids were found.
I agree David. Lee had a bad day today with several articles in the Journal!
Okay if they got in the trunk then obviously they had the keys or the vehicle was unlocked to where they could get the trunk opened. So another point of the parents not paying attention. Did they just hide to play? If so why all of them in the trunk. A lot is fishy here and I can’t believe Toyota was sued and they paid even if only $100,000 still they had to pay something.
Jess and Dave…..you seem to hold the minority opinion here. These parents not only sued the vehicle manufacturer, they also have suits pending against the city, the mayor, the police department, individual officers, and “other law enforcement authorities”. The facts are fairly irrefutable as Lee pointed out. The parents knew the old car was parked in their yard and did nothing to prevent their kids from getting hurt on it. It should have been towed away or at least locked by them. It was an attractive nuisance that most parents with an ounce of sense should have done something about. These parents walked past this vehicle multiple times and never considered looking in the trunk???? By the time the police arrived the kids were already dead. So why are they suing??? MONEY. These parents and their “lawyers” think they can drum up some easy money by pointing the finger at everyone else and taking no responsibility themselves. Nobody deserves to profit from a tragedy of their own making.
“””””relatives looking for jumper cables found their bodies in the back of a broken-down Toyota Camry parked in the Cruz family’s yard.
“””””
Even if Toyota “encouraged” owners to put release systems in their trunk – the freeking vehicle was broken-down and probably on blocks for years…
Ever been to Camden??? The place is a rat-hole from the git-go. If they had the money to retro-fit the vehicle they most likely would have spent it on drugs or alcohol – Go to http://www.city-data.com and see what a lovely community you’re dealing with…Stats are overwhelming (per 100,000) 16% unemployed (e.g., welfare)Murders 42 Rape 32 Robberies 780 Assaults 865 Burglaries 1128, Theft 2311, Auto Theft 1161, Arson 115 – National Crime Average – 320.0 – Camden 1024.7… 51% less than HS Diploma…
These people deserve nothing because of their own stupidity – You can’t tell me they didn’t look in the car themselves – and now want to blame the police and city for thier own stupidity??? Easier than winning the lottery I guess
Whatever…
Kali. You are preaching to the choir. Read what I said about how a “reasonable person” would consider this verdict. Toyota got off lucky on this one when you consider the potential of jury sympathy. The system stinks. I get it. You did not read my post carefully. I only took issue with Lee’s choice of words. It was not necessary. To speak like that anonymously is cowardly. He will never face these people to vent his opinion.