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2006 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID — SERVICE BRAKES

crash2 injured · 1290296 · 2016-06-16

Vehicle

Make
TOYOTA
Model
HIGHLANDER HYBRID
Year
2006
Manufacturer
Toyota Motor Corporation
Component
SERVICE BRAKES
Miles at failure
72,900
Speed
30 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
2
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
Yes
Medical attention
Yes
Vehicle towed
Yes

Narrative

MY SPEED WAS ABOUT 30 MPH; SPEED LIMIT WAS 40MPH. I WAS DRIVING NORTH-BOUND APPROACHING AN INTERSECTION. UP AHEAD, I SAW THAT TRAFFIC WAS STOPPING AND THE LIGHT WAS RED. I HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO SLOW TO A STOP, AND I STARTED TO EVEN THOUGH I WAS BACK ABOUT 15 CAR LENGTHS FROM THE CARS AHEAD. WHEN I STARTED PUSHING ON THE BRAKE, MY CAR IMMEDIATELY 'DIED' BUT THE CAR KEPT ROLLING FORWARD, EVEN THOUGH I CONFIRMED MY FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE. I WAS VERY STARTLED THAT THE CAR KEPT ROLLING WITH BRAKE APPLIED. BEFORE I COULD THINK ABOUT WHAT TO DO NEXT, THE CAR THEN RUMBLED AND SHOOK, AND THE ENGINE MADE A REVVING SOUND. THEN THE CAR JUST SPED UP INCREMENTALLY FASTER AND FASTER EVEN AS I DESPERATELY CONTINUED TO SHOVE HARD ON THE BRAKE. I YELLED "WHAT'S IT DOING?' I QUICKLY WONDERED IF I SHOULD PULL THE KEY OUT OF THE IGNITION BUT FELT THAT WAS THE WRONG THING TO DO. AS THE CAR WENT FASTER, I WENT INTO ABSOLUTE PANIC. I COULD NOT STOP THE CAR. I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO MISS HITTING ANYONE. I WAS DESPERATE TO AVOID CARS, BUT I WAS COMPLETELY UNABLE TO STOP MY CAR EVEN AS I CONTINUED PUSHING HARD ON THE BRAKE. THEN I HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME AT THE LIGHT. I TRULY BELIEVE THIS WAS AN UNINTENDED BRAKE ACCELERATION. I AM DEEPLY COMPELLED TO REPORT THIS SO THAT THE CAUSE AND RESOLUTION MAY BE FOUND BEFORE OTHERS ARE SERIOUSLY HURT OR KILLED. I SUFFERED A FRACTURED BACK AND WAS IN THE HOSPITAL 4 DAYS; AND DRIVER I RAN INTO WAS HURT AS WELL REQUIRING HOSPITAL ATTENTION. BOTH THE 3RD

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10874705
Machine
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