Toyota Prius crash in NY a mystery

HARRISON, N.Y. (AP) | The crash of a Toyota Prius in New York caught the attention of federal regulators Wednesday after the driver said it accelerated on its own, then lurched down a driveway, across a road and into a stone wall.

The crash heightens the attention surrounding unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles and a recall involving more than 8 million vehicles to address gas pedals that can become sticky or trapped under floor mats.

The Department of Transportation is looking into the New York crash, spokeswoman Olivia Alair said Wednesday.

Capt. Anthony Marraccini of the police department in Harrison, north of New York City, said that a regional Toyota official asked to collect the Prius involved in the crash but that the police are “not prepared to release it just yet.”

He said he wanted to see first if a federal agency wants to join or take over the investigation. “This involved potentially a great safety hazard and could be something of national interest,” he said.

The silver-gray 2005 Prius was taken to a police parking lot. Its front end was severely pushed in, the hood was buckled and the front bumper and one front headlight were broken.

Police think the vehicle was on Toyota’s recall list for the sticky accelerator problem, but they had no immediate proof that this one had the problem, Capt. Marraccini said. The vehicle had been serviced by Toyota for the floor-mat problem, he said.

The driver, a 56-year-old housekeeper, was going forward in the car on Tuesday, down a curving driveway several hundred feet long with a putting green next to it, when the accident happened, Capt. Marraccini said.

“She said she doesn’t know whether the accelerator stuck,” he said. “She said she didn’t depress it that much because she was just pulling out of the driveway.”

He said she was lucky to escape serious injury because she could have driven into traffic and the impact with the wall “was pretty substantial.” He said police did not yet know how fast the car was going.

The captain said police would consider the possibility that the driver was at fault. But he added, “She appears to have all her faculties. She didn’t appear to be disoriented in any way. There’s nothing at this particular time that would indicate driver error.”

He said she appeared to be properly licensed.

The air bags deployed when the car hit the stone wall of the estate across the street.

Toyota is fighting fears that the crashes are caused by faulty electronics rather than by mechanical problems. Representatives at the company’s U.S. sales headquarters in Torrance, Calif., did not return a phone call seeking comment Wednesday.

On Monday, California police stopped a runaway 2008 Prius going nearly 95 mph after the driver said the pedal jammed. Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are investigating.

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