Toyota, Lexus orders dealers to check floor mats

By ABC News

Posted: Sep 17, 2009 11:42 AM
Updated: Sep 17, 2009 11:43 AM

Could a floor mat have caused this tragic Southern California crash? That's what investigators think - that the gas pedal got stuck under the mat - causing the car to race up to 120 miles an hour.  Killed was California highway patrol officer Mark Saylor,  his wife, daughter and brother-in-law Chris Lastrella.

The issue is mats that aren't anchored down and Toyota warns that drivers should  never  place one mat on top of another - this thickness they say is a recipe for disaster.   In 2007, Toyota recalled 55,000 cars to replace floor mats that could slip and catch the gas pedal - but auto safety experts say it's not just Toyota's.

"It's an unknown hazard that's waiting to strike and when it happens, the average driver doesn't have the reactions of a fighter pilot and can't bring  the car under control, " says Clarence Ditlow of the Center for Auto Safety.

The government is looking into the accident, to see if needs to launch a safety investigation.

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