Louisville, Ky (WHAS11) – The first lawsuit filed against Toyota in a Kentucky state court has been filed by the mother of a Jefferson County star athlete. Her son died when his 2000 Toyota Camry crashed in Woodford County last April.
The crash was just a few miles from the Georgetown plant where the Toyota Camry may have been built.
The victim's mother is now suing Toyota in state court, hoping that what happened to her family won't happen to anyone else
Friends and family of Nate Stuckey said "the sky was the limit" for his future.
Stuckey’s former Westport Middle School football coach says he was a star, a leader, and a friend.
Nate played football, baseball, ran track, and was a member of the ROTC program.
Nate was a football standout at Waggener High School in Jefferson County, but later transferred to Bryan Station High School in Lexington. He thought it would help him achieve his dream of playing football at the University of Kentucky.
Nate was only 15-years-old when he died in the Camry that his friend was driving.
According to police, the car accelerated out of control, striking a rock wall, and a tree.
An investigation was not able to substantiate any fault on the part of the driver, so no charges were filed against him.
Attorney Christina Norris was hired by Nate's mother, Tina Stuckey, to represent her in a lawsuit against Toyota Motor Company, including its division headquartered in Kentucky.
In the lawsuit, Norris claims the unexpected acceleration came from a stuck gas pedal. She says it’s a problem Toyota had known about for years, but failed to alert the public.
She also claims that the car's side airbag didn't deploy.
Norris said she didn't want to talk on-camera yet because she's still waiting on more materials from investigators.
Nate's mother, Tina, was still too upset to do an interview, but shared pictures of him to keep his memory alive.
When WHAS11 News contacted Toyota for comment, their vice-president of communications said they don't comment on pending litigation. In the past, the company has denied that the acceleration problems have an electronic cause, but rather, have been the result of floor mats being entangled in the floor mats.
