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Man at Wheel of 'Out-of-Control' Prius Has Troubled Financial Past
Fox ^

Posted on 03/12/2010 9:14:38 AM PST by Chet 99

The man who became the face of the Toyota gas pedal scandal this week has a troubled financial past that is leading some to question whether he was wholly truthful in his story.

On Monday, James Sikes called 911 to report that he was behind the wheel of an out-of-control Toyota Prius going 94 mph on a freeway near San Diego. Twenty-three minutes later, a California Highway Patrol officer helped guide him to a stop, a rescue that was captured on videotape.

Since then, it's been learned that:

— Sikes filed for bankruptcy in San Diego in 2008. According to documents, he was more than $700,000 in debt and roughly five months behind in payments on his Prius;

— In 2001, Sikes filed a police report with the Merced County Sheriff's Department for $58,000 in stolen property, including jewelry, a digital video camera and equipment and $24,000 in cash;

— Sikes has hired a law firm, though it has indicated he has no plans to sue Toyota;

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: fraud; jamessikes; prius; runaway; toyota; warontoyota
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1 posted on 03/12/2010 9:14:38 AM PST by Chet 99
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To: Chet 99

“We did it for a show.” [/6-year-old voice]


2 posted on 03/12/2010 9:16:15 AM PST by ClearCase_guy (We're all heading toward red revolution - we just disagree on which type of Red we want.)
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To: Chet 99

His story reminded me of mackerel on ice. It smells and it shines.


3 posted on 03/12/2010 9:16:39 AM PST by Lonesome in Massachussets (The naked casuistry of the high priests of Warmism would make a Jesuit blush.)
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To: Chet 99

Shades of the balloon boy’s freak dad.


4 posted on 03/12/2010 9:17:44 AM PST by Dewey Revoltnow (Worst. Community. Organizer. Ever!)
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To: Chet 99
Well that was unexpected! no one and I mean no one saw that coming..
5 posted on 03/12/2010 9:17:48 AM PST by MSgt Smith (unexpectedly in Thailand)
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To: Chet 99

Very interesting. I think he owed on the Prius and thought maybe this would get him a new one, comped of something. Perhaps a nice settlement, too.

Between GM, UAW and the trial lawyers, and the fact that Toyota is based mostly in the south, this is starting to look really strange.

BTW, if any of you are in a runaway car, please put it in neutral (N) immediately, and step on the brakes. It’s not that hard.


6 posted on 03/12/2010 9:17:56 AM PST by Retired Greyhound
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To: Chet 99

A gold digger for sure.


7 posted on 03/12/2010 9:18:16 AM PST by boomop1
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To: ClearCase_guy

Suicide-by-automobile, where the guy chickened out before he could bring himself to swing over into oncoming traffic.

Abutments are really much better to secure a sure self-kill.


8 posted on 03/12/2010 9:19:01 AM PST by alloysteel (....the Kennedys can be regarded as dysfunctional. Even in death.)
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To: Chet 99

Sounds like the nut behind the wheel was what was out of control.


9 posted on 03/12/2010 9:21:07 AM PST by teletech (Say NO to RINOS!)
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To: Retired Greyhound
BTW, if any of you are in a runaway car, please put it in neutral (N) immediately, and step on the brakes. It’s not that hard.

BAD ADVICE! The key is the THROW THE CAR INTO REVERSE and PUNCH THE ACCELERATOR and YANK THE WHEEL HARD TO THE RIGHT!

Take your seat belt off first, of course.

10 posted on 03/12/2010 9:21:20 AM PST by Lazamataz (Proudly hittin' it without looking at the picture since 1999.)
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To: Chet 99

I always figured something smelled with this guy. California is litigation nuts and this guy is looking for a quick payday settlement from Toyota.


11 posted on 03/12/2010 9:22:41 AM PST by Old Retired Army Guy (tHE)
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To: Lazamataz

And make sure the charges are set and the cameras are rolling, stuntman.


12 posted on 03/12/2010 9:23:03 AM PST by Retired Greyhound
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To: Lazamataz
"BAD ADVICE! The key is the THROW THE CAR INTO REVERSE and PUNCH THE ACCELERATOR and YANK THE WHEEL HARD TO THE RIGHT!"

It's worked every time I tried it!

13 posted on 03/12/2010 9:23:36 AM PST by Enterprise (Dan Rather said Obama is so incompetent he couldn't sell watermelons.)
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To: Chet 99

Well, and the DNC-inspired news media were all set to jump on his story. I wonder if this expose will get past Fox into the media? Not if Obama, the Democrats, or Government Motors have any say in the matter.


14 posted on 03/12/2010 9:24:25 AM PST by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: Retired Greyhound
if any of you are in a runaway car, please put it in neutral (N) immediately, and step on the brakes. It’s not that hard.

I think it may not always be as easy as it sounds. If you're on a highway already going fast and the car starts going faster, your first instinct will be to take your foot off the gas pedal and hit the brakes, with the assumption that this will work. When it doesn't work, you may already be having serious trouble maintaining control of the car's direction or weaving around other vehicles whose drivers don't immediately recognize that you're unable to slow down. Taking a hand off the steering wheel to switch gears may be genuinely dangerous. You'll do it eventually, but not necessarily before your brakes are wiped out from being pushed down hard while the car is going 60 or 70 or more mph.

15 posted on 03/12/2010 9:25:10 AM PST by GovernmentShrinker
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To: Chet 99

I also read yesterday that the guy owns and operates a “swingers” wife-swapping website.

I’d say we’re better than 50-50 that this was staged.

SnakeDoc


16 posted on 03/12/2010 9:25:30 AM PST by SnakeDoctor (The night is darkest just before the dawn, but [...] the dawn is coming. -- Harvey Dent)
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To: Lazamataz

You forgot to tell them to yank the door handle with that hard right turn.


17 posted on 03/12/2010 9:25:40 AM PST by Abathar (Proudly posting without reading the article carefully since 2004)
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To: Retired Greyhound

And if you can get the car to roll once or twice, that’s even better.


18 posted on 03/12/2010 9:25:59 AM PST by Lazamataz (Proudly hittin' it without looking at the picture since 1999.)
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To: Chet 99

If a forensic examination of the car shows that it doesn’t match his story, he’ll be wishing hard that he could go back to the set of problems he had before this incident.


19 posted on 03/12/2010 9:26:52 AM PST by GovernmentShrinker
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To: Abathar

You are implying that the doors are there.... I already instructed them to remove the door and half-hang out of the car when doing all this.


20 posted on 03/12/2010 9:26:57 AM PST by Lazamataz (Proudly hittin' it without looking at the picture since 1999.)
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