In 2006, Koua Fong Lee, a recent Hmong immigrant with only about a year of driving experience, was exiting a freeway ramp in St. Paul when his 1996 Camry ran into the back of an Oldsmobile stopped at a red light. The accident killed three people, and Lee was convicted of criminal vehicular homicide. The judge who presided over that trial, sentenced him to the maximum eight years.

On Thursday, Lee walked free after a judge ordered a new trial due to Toyota's highly publicized sudden acceleration problems. Ramsey County District Judge Joanne Smith said she had seen enough new evidence to warrant a retrial. During the four days of testimony, Lee's attorneys didn't prove his car had a sudden acceleration problem, but evidence backed up Lee's account that he was trying to brake, and many witnesses testified they had sudden-acceleration experiences in Toyota's similar to Lee's. Lee happy to be reunited with his family, said he wanted the families to know he never intended to cause the accident.