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Police were forced to rescue a motorist whose Toyota accelerated out of control along a motorway in California, in another blow for the car giant in the wake of its massive safety recall.
Highway police shepherded the driver to safety when he called for help after his Toyota Prius accelerated out of control at speeds of up to 90 miles per hour.
James Sikes, 61, said he couldn't slow down for more than 30 miles along a motorway in San Diego after his accelerator stuck.
He eventually cruised to safety after a police car pulled alongside and told him to use the emergency and regular brakes and turn off the runaway car’s engine.
‘I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny,’ said Mr Sikes. ‘It jumped and it just stuck there. As it was going, I was trying the brakes. It wasn’t stopping,’ he added.
A pair of emergency calls spanning 23 minutes detailed the harrowing experience. Sikes sounds panicked at times as he tells a dispatcher about a stuck accelerator.
The dispatcher, Leighann Parks, repeatedly tells Sikes to throw the car into neutral and turn off the ignition. Sikes often didn't respond to her instructions.
'My car can't slow down,' Sikes tells her. At one point, Parks asks if he had put the car into neutral, and Sikes responds, 'I'm trying to control the car!'
Toyota was sending an investigator to look into the incident, which happened on this afternoon.
The sudden acceleration problem is at the centre of the Toyota scandal and has been linked to as many as 52 deaths in the US.
As the Japanese can manufacturer tries to fix the faults and wavering public confidence, it is facing a growing number of lawsuits linked to the recall - that could total £2billion.
At least 89 class action suits have been filed in US courts claiming the scandal has slashed the value of Toyota vehicles.
Analysts claim the number of Toyota owners claiming economic damage as a result of the recalls could rise to about six million.
Estimates that the cases may cost the embattled company £2billion do not include potential payouts for wrongful death and injury cases, which could reach in the tens of millions each.
The lost value lawsuits ‘are more scary for Toyota than the cases where people actually got injured,’ said expert Tom Baker, a University of Pennsylvania law professor.
‘A super big injury case would be $20million. But you could have millions of individual car owners who could each be owed $1,000. If I were Toyota, I’d be more worried about those cases,’ he added.
Toyota owners are claiming that the company knew all along about the safety problems and concealed them from buyers. Now they say their vehicles have fallen in value by as much as £500 as a result of the recalls.
Under US law, class action lawsuits must have 100 or more plaintiffs, damages must exceed £3million and the judge must be persuaded that all the claims are identical or very similar.
Toyota has so far recalled more than eight million vehicles because of problems caused by what it says are accelerator pedals that become sticky or get trapped under floor mats.
Another 437,000 Prius models have been recalled worldwide for what Toyota says is an anti-lock-braking glitch.
The vast majority of lawsuits claiming economic loss stem from the accelerator problems, and many contend the company's effort to fix floor mats or accelerator pedals are insufficient.
Dozens of lawsuits claim Toyota has ignored problems with its electronic throttle system.
The Prius involved in Monday’s drama was manufactured in 2008, which has not so far been included in any recalls.
The incident happened in the same county where an off-duty California Highway Patrol trooper and three family members were killed last August in an incident that brought the issue to national attention and led to the first major recall over unintended acceleration.
Mr Sikes was unable to slow down for more than 30 miles as he drove along a motorway in San Diego
The officer instructed the driver on how to use his emergency brake, before shepherding him to the side of the road
Driver James Sikes was saved by a highway patrol officer after his car accelerated out of control
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