Last Friday, Don Esmond, senior vice president of automotive operations for Toyota Motor Sales, said that he was “mystified” by James Sikes claims of his Toyota Prius’ gas pedal becoming stuck and causing the car to speed up to 94 mph on a San Diego freeway.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement today that it cannot explain the reported incident of sudden, high-speed acceleration in Sikes Prius. The department said that it continues to investigate the data from Sikes’ vehicle, but may never know exactly what happened with the hybrid.

NHTSA says it has not been able to find anything so far that could explain Sikes’ claims.

Esmond said last week that all Prius models are equipped with a system that cuts power to the wheels if the brake and gas pedals are depressed together, something Sikes said he was doing.

- By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Free Press