Car: 2002 Toyota Camry

Hometown: Wilmington

Crash location: Interstate 93 at Exit 39

Killed: Cafua

Crash details: Cafua was getting on the the interstate at 5:30 am when her Camry shot across three lanes of traffic and was broadsided by another car. The accident confounded family members, who called Cafua a good driver and said her route to work was one she obviously knew well. A family lawyer filed a complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, stating, "It is believed that the Camry experienced an un-commanded acceleration." The accident left Cafua in a coma for several months before she died. While she lay in the hospital, son David said, he read a newspaper article about problems with Toyota vehicles and began to suspect that the car might have been at fault in the accident. "I can't see my mother losing control with the car," David Cafua said. "It kind of makes sense if the car wouldn't stop."

Car: 2003 Toyota Camry

Hometowns: Framingham (Rubin) and Boynton Beach, Fla. (Malick)

Crash location: Delray Beach, Fla.

Killed: Pedestrian Blossom Malick

Crash details: Rubin had just finished eating at 3G's Gourmet Deli and Restaurant and was pulling out of his parking space when his Camry "shot back," according to son-in-law Marvin Cohen, killing Malick, who was standing in the parking lot. Family members described Rubin, then 87, as sensible driver despite his age. Cohen reported Rubin's accident to NHTSA as a possible case of sudden unintended acceleration because, based on Rubin's driving habits, "I could not believe it was his fault." After the accident, Rubin, a retired kosher caterer who died in April 2008, had his car shipped back to Massachusetts. Too afraid to drive the vehicle, he traded it in for another Camry. NHTSA is investigating the accident, and has been in touch with Cohen.

Car: 2000 Toyota Solara

Hometown: New Britain, Conn.

Crash location: Stanley Street, at Lyle Road.

Killed: Ignatowicz

Crash details: Police told Barbara Green her son died after drinking four beers and crashing his speeding Solara. But she says Ignatowicz had a reputation for never letting any of his loved ones drive drunk. So when she heard that Toyota drivers were reporting that their cars could suddenly accelerate, Green said, "My heart stopped. I knew that that's what had happened." Green reported the accident to NHTSA, saying that her son's Solara "went into full speed" and hit some trees at close to 100 miles an hour. A crash report from New Britain police stated that his blood alcohol content was nearly twice the legal limit. Green said she doubts the investigation's results, especially after seeing a statement from one of her son's friends in the police report, saying that the nearly 7-foot-tall Ignatowicz "appeared completely capable of safely operating his vehicle." She intends to fight to clear her son's name. "I kind of feel that I owe him that -- to his memory," she said.

Car: 2002 Toyota Highlander

Hometown: Wellesley (Lagakos) and Keene, N.H. (Krause)

Crash location: Route 202 in Peterborough, N.H. , near the Jaffrey town line

Killed: All four

Crash details: Lagakos, a Harvard professor; his wife, Regina; and his mother, Helen - who was celebrating her 94th birthday - were driving in Peterborough near their family summer home in Rindge around 11:30 a.m. Lagakos was headed north when his Highlander passed a vehicle on the right by driving in the breakdown lane. The Highlander ultimately crossed the center line as it was coming around a curve, and collided head-on with a rented Chevrolet Krause was driving. The sport utility vehicle may have reached speeds of at least 85 miles per hour before the crash, according to police. All four people died.