In brief: Lexus driver won’t be charged

Los Angeles – Prosecutors have dismissed a vehicular manslaughter charge against a Torrance, Calif., woman who had blamed a deadly 2008 freeway crash on a mechanical glitch she said caused her Lexus SUV to accelerate out of control.

The decision by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office circumvented what could have been a spirited trial about whether human error or a computer-system malfunction caused Unmi Suk Chung’s Lexus RX330 to crash in West Los Angeles, killing a passenger.

In the last year, sudden acceleration has been blamed for hundreds of crashes of Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles.

Quaids absent at arraignment

Santa Barbara, Calif. – After a of couple hours of waiting Tuesday, a judge expecting to arraign actor Randy Quaid and his wife on felony vandalism charges asked a familiar question about the couple: “Where are the Quaids?”

The simple answer for the day: Canada.

Their failure to appear may leave the actor and his wife, Evi, worrying about more than just a mysterious syndicate that they claim they’re running from. Tuesday was their third missed court appearance in a case that’s barely two weeks old, and the couple’s attorney acknowledged that bounty hunters may soon be on their tail.

Attorney Robert Sanger said Randy Quaid needed to remain in Vancouver pending an immigration hearing next week, and his wife simply refused to leave him.

Ultimately, a judge agreed to allow Randy Quaid to appear on Nov. 16 without releasing a warrant for his arrest or forfeiting half-million dollar bail. Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Donna Geck did issue a warrant for Evi Quaid and forfeited her $500,000 bail, which had been intended to guarantee her appearance.