As Toyota sought to contain the fallout from a California sudden-acceleration case involving a Prius, another driver's out-of-control Prius slammed into a stone wall in New York on Tuesday. A 56-year-old woman was pulling out of a driveway when her 2005 Prius "shot" across the road, Harrison, N.Y., police said. The driver, who was not immediately named, suffered minor injuries, but the impact sent "some pretty big boulders" fairly far, said Anthony Marraccini, acting police chief.
That Prius is among the 2004-2009 models recalled by Toyota for floor mats that could jam the gas pedal, but Marraccini said the floor mat has been pretty much ruled out since it was tied to the seat base with plastic ties. Police have taken the car for further analysis. The new Prius incident came as Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rushed investigators to San Diego to analyze the 2008 Toyota Prius involved in a runaway incident.
James Sikes, 61, dialed 911 Monday evening to report his Prius was accelerating out of his control.
"I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car. ... It jumped, and it just stuck there" hitting speeds up to 94 mph, Sikes said. A California Highway Patrol officer responded, pulled alongside and told Spikes by loudspeaker to stand on the brakes and also apply the parking brake. Sikes was able to slow the car while the cruiser drove in front, and eventually he could shut it off.
The incident was just a few miles from where the crash of a runaway Lexus last August killed a CHP officer and his wife, daughter and brother-in-law. That crash, attributed to the floor mat jamming the gas pedal, spurred Toyota to recall 5.3 million vehicles — including Sikes' Prius.
