A two-day inspection of Koua Fong Lee's 1996 Toyota Camry confirmed that the brake lights were on when the car slammed into an Olds Ciera stopped at a red light in 2006 in St. Paul, attorneys for Lee and the victims' families said Wednesday.

Three people died as a result of the crash and Lee has been in prison since he was found guilty of criminal vehicular homicide in 2007. The car inspection, prompted by recent Toyota problems with sudden acceleration, is the latest step in an attempt to prove Lee is wrongly behind bars.

Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner said Wednesday her office won't "reach conclusions or comment on the examination" until the reports of all experts are in. That could take several weeks, she said.

She did say Lee's vehicle had a Toyota-made cruise control system that wasn't subject to a recall.

"I can't say enough times, [this] is a very tragic [case]," Gaertner said. "Two people died instantly. A young girl died afterward as a result of the crash. Mr. Lee is in prison, away from his family. No question that this is a sad situation. But as prosecutors, we can't make decisions based on sadness, based on sympathetic figures, based on speculation.

"We need facts and we need evidence and that's what these last two days have been about."

Attorney Mike Padden, who represents three members of the victims' families, said his expert "absolutely confirms that the filament in the brake lights does support the contention that the brake lights were activated at the time of impact.

"That's a very specific phenomenon; the filament explodes if it's on, if it's not on it separates."

Lee, serving an eight-year sentence, continually claimed he pumped the brakes as he tried to stop the car from speeding up the Snelling Avenue exit ramp off Interstate 94. His car sideswiped others before crashing into the Olds.

The driver, Javis Adams Sr., 33, and his son, Javis Jr., 9, died at the scene. Adams' niece, Devyn Bolton, died from injuries in October 2007 at age 7.

Lee's attorneys have filed a motion seeking a new trial. They also have filed affidavits from almost two dozen people who have experienced sudden acceleration in older model Toyotas. The county attorney's office has until two weeks after it receives the car inspection reports or June 30, whichever comes first, to file a response.

Lee's defense attorney, Brent Schafer, said he expects to have a rough draft from his expert by Sunday and should submit the report by the middle of next week. He said he's not going to quibble with Gaertner about what constitutes new evidence.

"If she wants credit for this, she can have it," he said. "Just release him. I'll praise [her] all day long. I don't care. And Mr. Lee doesn't care either, by the way."

Pat Pheifer • 612-741-4992