Toyota alleges fatal crash was result of driver error, not mechanical failure

Opening arguments wrapped up today in a lawsuit against Toyota connected to a 2006 crash that killed three people.

While traveling at a high speed, Koua Fong Lee's Camry rear-ended another car. He insisted the car accelerated on its own, but still spent more than two years in jail.

Lee was let out of prison four years ago after his conviction was overturned amid recalls of other Toyotas will sudden acceleration problems. He quickly joined in a lawsuit against Toyota brought by surviving victims from the car he struck -- a crash that killed a father and his son, and another child who died from his injuries a year later.

In opening statements, Lee's attorney told the jury, "We are here because of human consequences of a corporate decision." He showed them the accelerator of a 96 Camry and said he'll prove that heat made two plastic pulleys stick.

Lee's attorney said he can prove Lee was trying to brake based on the bulb filaments from his brake lights, and that the jury will hear from three other people who had the same model Camry and had the same thing happen to them.

Toyota's lead attorney told jurors their tests show that a Camry with a stuck accelerator will still slow down when you hit the brakes, and that the crash could've activated Lee's brake lights. They believe Lee was actually pressing the gas pedal by mistake -- driver error, not a faulty car.