Sikes was thousands of dollars in debt, and even his 911 call (where he claimed the accelerator would not come back up, even while braking) was somewhat unconvincing. A police cruiser eventually pulled in front of Sike’s Prius (which he was quite behind on payments with) to bring him to a stop.

According to NHTSA documents, “While the release of today’s study indicates there is the possibility of pedal entrapment and sticky pedals (both previously known incidents), there’s no evidence of either situations occurring in the case of Mr. Sikes.”

“NHTSA Investigation 3/31/2010 Conclusion: Initial assessment does not indicate any physical evidence of pedal entrapment or sticky accelerator pedal… Test drive conducted, same route as Sikes incident. Could not simulate runaway situation.”

Further case studies of other “Runaway Prius” stories (including the NY maid crashing hers, pictured above) are also starting to look falsified. In addition, NHTSA officials are now saying upwards of 90% of these Prius incidents are caused by driver error. Either a person is not properly operating the vehicle, or they are lying. Either way, Toyota looks to (just about) be in the clear.

Source: Jalopnik

According to a press release from Toyota, the world’s largest automaker says customers of these vehicles have experienced inconsistent braking “during slow and steady application of brakes on rough or slick road surfaces when the ABS is activated in an effort to maintain tire traction.” An update to the braking software is expected to improve “ABS response time, as well as the system’s overall sensitivity to tire slippage.”

“I apologise for causing trouble and worries for many customers over the quality and safety of Toyota,” said Toyota president Akio Toyoda in a news conference. “We sincerely acknowledge safety concerns from our customers. We have decided to recall as we regard safety for our customers as our foremost priority.”

Separately, Toyota recalled 7,300 2010 Toyota Camry models that could develop a hole in the front brake fluid line. I’m guessing now is a good time to buy stock, it’ll have to go back up eventually.