Senator Demands Information from Toyota

Tuesday's single-car accident involving a 2005 Toyota Prius has garnered the attention of New York State Senator Charles Schumer, who on Friday afternoon demanded that Toyota "come clean and cooperate," with the investigation. 

"We all know that there are serious problems with many Toyotas," Schumer said during a press conference at the Harrison Police Department. "We also have learned from Toyota's dealings with congress that they stonewall, they don't come clean and they try to delay."

"We have been putting pressure on Toyota both at the national level and here at the local level both to come clean and to cooperate."

Schumer went on to ask the car company to allow someone to "look over their shoulder" as they investigate the accident. He also asked that Toyota make public everything that they find that may have caused the crash. 

"If we can get those things done we can get to the bottom of not only what caused this accident in Harrison, but what might have caused many, many, other accidents through the years as Toyota had these problems but didn't really own up to them," said Schumer.

Harrison Police sent a letter to the New York region of Toyota requesting their cooperation in the investigation on Wednesday. On Thursday, the car company responded, saying that it would send a technical analysis engineer to inspect the vehicle on March 17.

But the response wasn't enough for Schumer.

"It was vague, and given Toyota's history, that is not close to enough," he said of the letter. "We need specifics, and that's what we are asking Toyota to commit to today."

According to police, the accident, which was likely caused by a problem with the car's gas pedal, occurred when the Prius sped out of control at about 7:45 Tuesday morning. The vehicle was being driven from a residence at 3700 Purchase St. The woman driving the vehicle, who has not been identified by police, said that the car's breaks did not respond while the car suddenly gained speed on a flat driveway. The car accelerated as it crossed over Purchase Street and crashed into a stone wall.

The vehicle may have been going as fast as 40 mph when it hit the wall, according to Harrison Mayor/Supervisor Joan Walsh.

"We appreciate the Senator's efforts and his attempts to help us facilitate this accident investigation," said Harrison Police Captain and Acting Police Chief Anthony Marraccini. "It's a serious issue that Harrison Police takes with great concern."

The press conference was very pointed at times, as Schumer questioned Toyota's commitment to public safety. The Senator at one point even mistakenly referred to the the scene of the accident as the "scene of the crime," before correcting himself.

"Toyota is used to a different way of doing things, I guess in Japan if this happened no one would complain and no one would ask them a question," said Schumer. "But this is America, and Toyota has to deal properly to get to the bottom of this and save lives, plain and simple."