A federal appeals court has affirmed an $11 million jury award related to a St. Paul automobile crash that killed three people and resulted in the wrongful imprisonment of a driver.

A jury determined in 2015 that Toyota was 60 percent to blame for the 2006 crash. A lawsuit alleged the crash was caused by a throttle design defect in a 1996 Toyota Camry that caused it to suddenly accelerate. Toyota argued there was no defect. The company said driver Koua Fong Lee accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake.

Lee has maintained that he tried to brake but the brakes didn’t work.

The case stems from a June 2006 collision at the Snelling Avenue exit of eastbound Interstate 94. Lee’s Camry sped up the exit ramp and crashed into an Oldsmobile Ciera carrying five family members.

The crash killed the driver of the other vehicle, Javis Trice-Adams Sr., and his 9-year-old son, Javis Adams Jr. His 6-year-old niece, Devyn Bolton, was paralyzed and died in 2007.

Trice-Adams’ daughter, Jassmine Adams, who was 12 at the time, was seriously injured, as was Trice-Adams’ father, Quincy Ray Adams. Those two and Devyn Bolton’s mother, Bridgette Trice, were the other plaintiffs in the case, along with Lee and four of his family members who were in his car at the time of the crash.

Mike Padden, an attorney representing Quincy Adams and Trice, said he was certain they were elated about the appeals court’s decision on Friday.

“I’m sure they’ll be happy it’s almost come to an end,” said Padden of the lawsuit that was filed seven years ago. “… I think ultimately what they’re looking for is closure.”

Lee was convicted of criminal vehicular homicide and sentenced in 2008 to eight years in prison. He served 2.5 years and was released in 2010, after a Ramsey County district judge granted him a new trial after reports surfaced about sudden acceleration in some Toyotas, and questions were raised about the adequacy of his defense. Prosecutors declined to retry him.

A subsequent civil trial in 2015 found Toyota liable.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the jury award.

This report includes information from the Associated Press.