NY police: Driver who claimed Prius accelerated on its own was taking it in for pedal check

Cop: Driver in NY Prius crash was headed to dealer

HARRISON, N.Y. — Police say a New York woman who claimed her Toyota Prius accelerated on its own was on her way to have its gas pedal checked at the time of the accident.

Harrison police Capt. Anthony Marraccini said Thursday the driver had not experienced previous problems with acceleration. But he says she had arranged a check because of publicity about sticky gas pedals.

The driver, a 56-year-old housekeeper, told police she was easing down her employer’s driveway north of New York City on Monday when the car began to speed up. She said she did not know whether the gas pedal stuck.

She says that she applied the brakes but that the car lurched across two lanes of traffic and into a stone wall. She was not seriously injured.