ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: Days after Toyota recall, woman who crashed into house blames faulty pedal

MERCEDES — A woman who crashed into a house after losing control of her 2007 Toyota Camry blamed her vehicle’s faulty accelerator pedal, a week after Toyota added the vehicle to the company’s expanding recall.

Police said the woman’s car smashed into a house on the 100 block of Cindy Lane about 3:45 p.m. Wednesday. Although the car broke through a bedroom wall and left a hole in the house, no one inside was injured, Mercedes Police Chief Olga Maldonado said.

Rigoberto Bocanegra said he has covered the hole temporarily using blankets and other soft items to protect his family’s home from the elements.

“I’m just thinking: ‘Oh, man. This is going to come out of my pocket,” Bocanegra said. “I start wondering: ‘How am I going to repair this?’”

Bocanegra said the woman’s husband called him after the crash to offer to pay for the damages.

“I just hope he delivers,” Bocanegra said.

Bocanegra’s mother had been babysitting his 4-year-old son when the vehicle punched through the house.

“She was hanging up the phone and walked out of the bedroom,” Bocanegra said. “That’s when the impact and the noise and the crushing shook her up.”

The woman, whom police declined to identify pending her arraignment, was arrested on one charge of driving with an invalid license. She was also driving without vehicle insurance, Maldonado said.

“We try to tell people to at least get liability insurance,” the chief said. “They take the risk, and then the unfortunate happens.”

The woman was not intoxicated at the time of the crash, and police are attempting to determine whether she was speeding intentionally. She will likely be charged with driving with a suspended license — a Class B misdemeanor — at an arraignment hearing today. If convicted, she could spend up to 180 days in county jail and face a fine of up to $2,000.

Toyota recalled 2.3 million of its vehicles in the United States on Jan. 21 because the accelerator pedal can stick, causing unintended acceleration. Five days later, the automaker temporarily suspended sales of the eight models whose accelerator pedals can stick — the 2009-2010 RAV4, 2009-2010 Corolla, 2009-2010 Matrix, 2005-2010 Avalon, certain 2007-2010 Camrys, 2010 Highlander, 2007-2010 Tundra and 2008-2010 Sequoia.

“You can tell she was going slow,” Maldonado said. “I think she panicked.”

The chief said the woman had apparently swerved to avoid hitting a pole when she smashed through a fence and into the house. The woman likely thought the fence’s impact would stop her car before hitting the home, Maldonado said.

“If people are driving the model that has been recalled, don’t take the chance,” the chief said. “What if you’re driving along the highway and your vehicle accelerates? You could actually kill someone.”