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Driver in Toyota case says he’s still haunted by crash

FILE - In this Aug. 5, 2010, file photo, Koua Fong Lee embraces his wife, Panghoua Moua, in St. Paul, Minn., after learning charges against him, including criminal vehicular homicide, were dropped. Eight years after a crash involving a Toyota Camry driven by Lee that killed three Minnesota residents and resulted in a prison sentence for him, a lawsuit against the automaker goes to trial Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015. (AP Photo/Minnesota Public Radio, Tom Weber, File) FILE - In this Aug. 5, 2010, file photo, Koua Fong Lee embraces his wife, Panghoua Moua, in St. Paul, Minn., after learning charges against him, including criminal vehicular homicide, were dropped. Eight years after a crash involving a Toyota Camry driven by Lee that killed three Minnesota residents and resulted in a prison sentence for him, a lawsuit against the automaker goes to trial Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015. (AP Photo/Minnesota Public Radio, Tom Weber, File)

By Associated Press January 8, 2015 1 min read

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A man who spent 2½ years in prison after a crash in his Toyota that killed three people in Minnesota says he’s still haunted by the accident.

Taking the stand in a lawsuit against the Japanese automaker, Koua (KOO’-uh) Fong Lee told jurors his heart races and his body shakes every time he thinks about the accident.

Lee was the leadoff witness Thursday in the lawsuit over the 2006 crash. Lee was driving a 1996 Camry that slammed into the back of a family’s Oldsmobile. He’s among several plaintiffs seeking damages from Toyota over the crash.

Lee has always maintained that he pumped his brakes but the car wouldn’t stop. Toyota says Lee’s car wasn’t defective and he hit the gas instead of the brake.