N.Y. Prius crash examined

3/18/2010

HARRISON, N.Y. - Investigators from Toyota Motor Corp. and the U.S. government inspected a crashed 2005 Prius in a suburb of New York City yesterday to see if a black boxlike device or its wreckage could point to problems with the brakes or accelerator.

The black box, known as an event-data recorder, yielded information on engine speed and pedal position, but no one was saying what the recorder found.

A housekeeper who was driving the car told police that it sped up on its own as she eased forward down her employer's driveway on March 9 and hit a wall across the street. She was not hurt. Harrison Police Department Capt. Anthony Marraccini said driver error had not been ruled out or indicated.

An Associated Press analysis finds that the government has received 105 complaints since Feb. 15 from drivers who say their Toyotas are still accelerating on their own even after the automaker's fix.