Toyota comes out fighting over 'runaway' Prius

Toyota's investigation into the events surrounding the San Diego "runaway Prius" in the US has revealed serious inconsistencies between the driver's account of what occurred and the initial findings of the manufacturer's engineers.

After a two day technical examination of the car in question, Toyota's experts concluded that the Prius's accelerator pedal, push button power switch and gear selector were all working normally. The brakes, though heavily worn, were also considered to be functioning correctly.

Though the final report is not ready, a strongly worded press release makes it clear that Toyota's technicians were unable to recreate the incident, and considered the circumstances described by the driver to be highly unlikely.