Toyota wants the 1996 Camry that Koua Fong Lee was driving on a fateful afternoon in 2006 when three people were killed in a horrific crash at the top of a freeway exit ramp in St. Paul.

But Lee, 32, who was released from prison just three weeks ago, doesn't have control or custody of the heavily damaged vehicle. It is in secure storage at the St. Paul police impound lot, and the Police Department holds the key.

The car is the subject of four lawsuits, filed in state and federal courts by the injured victims as well as by family members of those killed on June 10, 2006.

Lee has insisted all along that he tried to brake to avoid the accident, but that the car would not stop. At his post-conviction relief hearing earlier this month, 11 other drivers testified that they experienced sudden unintended acceleration in vehicles identical or nearly identical to Lee's.

The lawsuits against Toyota allege that the automaker knew about sudden acceleration before the crash and failed to follow up on complaints. The suits also claim that Toyota intentionally concealed defects in its vehicles.

Lee, 32, of St. Paul, was serving an eight-year sentence for criminal vehicular homicide before he was freed Aug. 5 when Ramsey County District Judge Joanne Smith ordered a new trial based on newly discovered evidence and ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Within an hour of the judge's ruling, the county attorney's office announced that it would not appeal the judge's ruling or retry Lee.

Star Tribune, Star Tribune
Koua Fong Lee

Lee and his wife, Panghoua Moua, were "very worried and scared" when they were served with a subpoena Monday by Toyota Motor Corp., which demanded that they produce the car by Wednesday morning, Lee's attorney Brent Schafer, said Tuesday.

"They're doing better today," he said of the couple.

Schafer said attorney Bob Hilliard has been trying to convince the automaker that Lee doesn't have access to the vehicle.

On Tuesday, Hilliard called Toyota's subpoena "a spineless move by a spineless company. It's over-the-top Rambo aggressive," he said.

John D. Sear, one of Toyota's Twin Cities attorneys, said: "I'm not willing to comment on pending litigation. I can't tell you anything more about that."

Hilliard said he and Schafer have been trying to set up "reasonable access" to the Camry for both sides. The car is still in Moua's name, he said.

Schafer said he and Hilliard know that Toyota will eventually need to examine the car, but they don't want Toyota to be the only party with access to it.

Schafer said he's been trying to get police to release the vehicle for the past week. He said he and Lee will go to the impound lot Wednesday to deal with the subpoena. He may or may not need to file a motion to quash it, he said.

Pat Pheifer • 612-741-4992