We don’t know if the Prius has trouble stopping or not, but we do know that nothing will stop the cockroaches from crawling out of the woodwork.
Turns out James Sikes, the driver of San Diego’s so-called runaway Prius, hasn’t been making payments on the Prius, filed for bankruptcy in 2008, has $700,000 in debt, has had several previous vehicles “stolen,” and to top it all off, reportedly operates a sexually-oriented website.
Jalopnik.com has the juicy details:
We received an email earlier today from an anonymous tipster who claims James (Jim) Sikes, the driver of the runaway Toyota Prius, was in financial trouble and even behind by five months on his payments for the Prius. If that’s true, it’s potential motivation for wanting to find an out — any out — on paying for the vehicle.
We did some public records searches (thanks to the help of Gawker’s John Cook) and found Sikes and his wife Patty found themselves, like many in the California real estate business, on the bursting side of the real estate bubble last year. The two declared bankruptcy in June of 2008 and have a combined liability of over $700,000 dollars in debt.
Among the list of creditors holding secured claims is none other than Toyota Financial Services for a lease on a 2008 Toyota Prius with 7,200 miles on the odometer. Total value of the lease at the time of bankruptcy was $20,494.
So, with almost three-quarter million dollars in debt there’s obviously the potential for financial motivation here. But, for his part, when we questioned Mr. Sikes over email earlier today, he denied being behind on his Prius payments.
Mr. Sikes also has not shied away from cameras appearing on CNN and numerous other television programs. In each, he’s stated numerous times he’s not going to sue and isn’t looking for any financial remuneration from Toyota other than a new vehicle.
We’ve asked the law firm representing him to furnish us with an up-to-date copy of his Toyota statement and we’ll post that as soon as we receive it — to either debunk this myth or add fuel to any fire.
…
But regardless of what happens with the Sikes case, the bigger issue for Toyota will be every cash-strapped ‘yota-owner looking for an easy out on their loans and leases potentially thinking about doing just this with their car. That’s a lot of potential carnage to wade through.
To inject a completely personal note, IHateTheMedia.com’s editor drove an Audi 25 years ago when they were supposedly prone to uncontrollable sudden acceleration. Today he drives a Toyota that is, of course, supposedly prone to uncontrollable sudden acceleration.
Weird.
Source: Jalopnik.com via Gawker.com
