BOSTON -- The parents of a young teacher who was raped and murdered by a fake good Samaritan after her car broke down sued the American Automobile Association Monday for leaving her stranded after she called for help.

The suit charges that an AAA tow truck driver left Melissa Gosule, 27, in a parking lot near a Cape Cod traffic rotary late at night last July, saying he was too busy to help.

Gosule was later raped and stabbed by Michael Gentile, who had stopped, supposedly to assist her.

Gentile was convicted of first-degree murder in May.

Gosule's mother Sandra Glaser said AAA was negligent and deserves some blame for her daughter's death because if the association had done its job, she said, "this never would have happened."

The suit also charges AAA with false advertising because it didn't live up to claims that it could be trusted like "family" in the sometimes dangerous situation of a roadside breakdown.

"AAA preys on our vulnerabilities, but when it came time to help Melissa, AAA and its agent did nothing," said Leslie Gosule, Melissa Gosule's father.

A lawyer for AAA did not respond to requests for comment.

The suit, which also names AAA Southern New England and Cubellis Auto & Truck Repair, was filed at Plymouth Superior Court. It seeks unspecified damages for loss of companionship, conscious pain and suffering and triple damages for false and misleading advertising.

Gosule returned to a parking lot near the Sagamore traffic rotary in the early evening of July 11, 1999 after riding bike trails on Cape Cod, and found her car wouldn't start.

Gosule met Gentile shortly afterward, and used his cellular phone to call her stepfather, Peter Glaser, at about 6:15 p.m. The suit claims Glaser immediately called AAA and was told that help would arrive within an hour, as is company policy.

But when tow truck driver John Cubellis of Buzzards Bay arrived 90 minutes later, he informed Gosule that he couldn't tow her car, or drive her to another location for more than four hours because he was too busy, the suit alleges.

Cubellis also didn't try to start the car, make sure she was taken to a safe spot, or contact AAA to send another truck, as he is required by contract, the suit said. The suit claimed that Gosule became desperate, and accepted a ride to Brockton from Gentile because she had no other options.

Gosule never made it to Brockton and was reported missing. Her body was found in a shallow grave in Pembroke eight days later.

Cubellis did not return two phone messages requesting comment.

The Glasers' and Gosule's attorney Michael Paris said at a news conference that the association was negligent because it "assumes a duty" to ensure the safety of its customers, much like an EMT or lifeguard.

"A lifeguard can't change his mind halfway out (during a rescue), can't say we'll come back to get you in a couple of hours," Paris said.

Paris also pointed to an association advertisement which referred to the potential danger of relying on strangers for help after a breakdown, and concluded, "It's comforting to know that the person who arrives is more interested in helping you than helping himself."

"The horror that AAA exploits to sell memberships is the very horror that became Melissa's reality," Paris said. "They failed to protect Melissa from exactly what they said could happen."

Sandra Glaser said bringing the suit just days after the first anniversary of her daughter's death was painful.

"It's awful," she said. "I didn't want to do it."

But she said that AAA needed to held responsible for its actions.

"I hate to think that this should happen to any other family out there," she said. "If this lawsuit prevents that from happening, we will have done something good."