LOS ANGELES, April 9 - RAPSI. California prosecutors have reached a $16 million settlement with Toyota, thus bringing an end to a three-year legal battle based on allegations that the car manufacturer knowingly sold cars and trucks with defective accelerators, thus causing dozens of deaths, according to legal documents made available by the Orange County District Attorney’s office.

The original complaint, which was filed in 2010, alleges that Toyota “knowingly sold cars and trucks that have one or more defects that cause the Toyota-made vehicles to accelerate suddenly and uncontrollably.” Noting that millions of Californians had purchased defective cars and trucks in recent years, prosecutors claimed that Toyota intentionally failed to disclose the problem.

Asserting the devastating impact made by the defective acceleration system, the complaint notes, “As of March 6, 2010, the number of deaths attributed to possible unintended acceleration in Toyota cars had risen to 58.”

The settlement agreement stipulates that Toyota will be required to pay out $4 million to  settle the claims, $4 in court costs and legal fees, and $8 million (split into two separate payments) to the Orange County Gang Reduction Intervention Partnership, an initiative aimed at preventing gang violence through school advocacy efforts.

Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas explained the logic behind the large donation to a seemingly unrelated interest group as having to do with generally serving the policy goal of public health. According to an official statement released by his office, Rackauckas explained that the gang violence organization “works very effectively with kids, beginning in the fourth and fifth grades, to keep kids out of gangs… This settlement with Toyota will benefit public safety by adding substantial momentum to this great movement,"

Toyota continues to deny any wrongdoing on its end, but “has concluded that it is desirable that the Action be fully and finally settled.”

Toyota had previously agreed to provide free work aimed at improving driver safety in all eligible vehicles as part of a massive class action settlement alleging economic losses associated with the defective acceleration systems.

The Attorney General noted that: “these elements will enhance customer confidence in their vehicles and are in the best interest of Toyota vehicle owners and lessees in Orange County and the State of California.”

Announcing the settlement, Toyota general counsel Christopher Reynolds “As we continue to turn the page on legacy legal issues related to our past recalls, we are pleased to have resolved these allegations in a way that supports the communities where our customers live and work.  Having addressed floor mat and ‘sticky pedal’ issues with effective and durable solutions, we are gratified that Toyota vehicles are once again widely recognized as among the safest and most reliable on the road.”