We first raised doubts about the financial motivations and character of Jim Sikes, the runaway Prius driver, last week. Now there's evidence, in a draft memorandum obtained by Jalopnik from sources familiar with the investigation, that Sikes perpetrated a hoax. 
 
 According to the memo (first referenced by the AP, but below, exclusively in its entirety), prepared for members of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, a thorough investigation of the Prius in question revealed that, while the brake pads on the car were worn down, technicians from both Toyota and NHTSA were unable to duplicate the unintended acceleration Sikes claims. 
 
 Although unable to duplicate the unintended acceleration, investigators were, however, able to test the brake override system installed on the Prius on both the Sikes car and a test vehicle of the same year. The memo states: 
 
 Every time the technician placed the gas pedal to the floor and the brake pedal to the floor the engine shut off and the car immediately started to slow down. NHTSA and Toyota field representatives reported the same results with the 2008 Prius owned by Mr. Sikes. 
 
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 Further, a representative of Toyota present at the investigation stated the design of the Prius is such that applying maximum negative force (via the brakes) and positive force (via acceleration) would have such an impact on a car the engine would seize up, which didn't happen: 
 
 According to Mr. David Justo, Toyota Motor Sales HQ, I was informed that he is Toyota's residential Hybrid expert, he stats "that if MG2 (gas pedal is to the floor, creating positive force) and the driver puts the brake MG1 (creating negative force) then the engine would shut down. If the engine does not shut down then the gears would be spinning pat their maximum revolutions per minute and completely seize the engine. So, in this case, knowing that we are able to push the car around the shop, it does not appear to be feasibly possible, both electronically and mechanically that his gas pedal was stuck to the floor and he was slamming on the brake at the same time". 
 
 "These findings certainly raise new questions surrounding the veracity of the sequence of events that has been reported by Mr. Sikes," said Kurt Bardella, a spokesman for Darrell Issa (R-CA), the ranking Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform who was present at the investigation. 
 
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 More damning than even this memo is a story yesterday from The Wall Street Journal citing three people familiar with the investigation claiming they discovered a pattern of brake wear on the car inconsistent with the account from Mr. Sikes. That's a much more telling data point than even that found in this memo, and if correct, further bolsters any claims against Mr. Sikes' story. We've yet to see the full reports from Toyota or NHTSA, though we're certain both are forthcoming. 
 
 Still trust Sikes? Let's look at a well-known meta-theoretical principle known as "Occam's" Razor. The theory, attributed to 14th Century English theologian and Franciscan friar, William of Ockham, states that "entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity." i.e., that the simplest solution is usually the correct one. 
 
 Given this memo indicates Toyota was not to blame in this very public case of unintended acceleration, the choices available to us are that Toyota has ghosts in the machine that can't be rooted out (highly improbable), the seemingly competent Jim Sikes wasn't willing to obey simple commands like "put the car into neutral" out of unstated-at-the-time fears the "car would flip" (highly improbable), or that this was a hoax perpetrated by a financially strapped Mr. Sikes (probable). What would Friar Ockham say? ||||| Investigators with Toyota Motor Corp. and the U.S. government could not replicate the runaway speeding reported by a Prius owner who said his car's accelerator got stuck as he drove on a California freeway, according to a memo for a congressional panel. 
 
 The memo, obtained Saturday by The Associated Press, said the experts who examined and test drove the car could not replicate the sudden, unintended acceleration James Sikes said he encountered. A backup mechanism that shuts off the engine when the brake and gas pedals are floored also worked properly during tests. 
 
 Sikes, 61, called the emergency dispatcher on Monday to report losing control of his 2008 Prius as the hybrid reached speeds of 94 mph (151 kph). A California Highway Patrol officer helped Sikes bring the vehicle to a safe stop on Interstate 8 near San Diego. 
 
 The incident happened at the worst possible time for Toyota, which has recalled millions of cars because of floor mats that can snag gas pedals or accelerators that can sometimes stick. Just hours before the incident, Toyota had called reporters to its Torrance, California, office to hear experts refute claims that the company had not identified _ or fixed _ what might be causing its cars to speed out of control. 
 
 Sikes' car was covered by the floor mat recall but not the one for sticky accelerators. He later told reporters that he tried to pull on the gas pedal during his harrowing ride, but it didn't "move at all." 
 
 During two hours of test drives of Sikes' car Thursday, technicians with Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration failed to duplicate the same experience that Sikes described, according to the memo written by the Republican staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. One congressional staff member observed the investigation of Sikes' Prius. 
 
 "Every time the technician placed the gas pedal to the floor and the brake pedal to the floor the engine shut off and the car immediately started to slow down," the memo said. 
 
 Also, the Prius is designed to shut down if the brakes are applied while the gas pedal is pressed to the floor. If it doesn't, the engine would "completely seize," according to the report that cited Toyota's "residential Hybrid expert." 
 
 "It does not appear to be feasibly possible, both electronically and mechanically that his gas pedal was stuck to the floor and he was slamming on the brake at the same time," according to the memo. 
 
 The memo did say that investigators found the front brake pads were spent. 
 
 "Visually checking the brake pads and rotor it was clearly visible that there was nothing left," it said. 
 
 John Gomez, Sikes' attorney, said the findings fail to undermine his client's story. 
 
 "I don't put a whole lot of stock in their explanation," he said Sunday. "It's not surprising they couldn't replicate it. They have never been able to replicate an incident of sudden acceleration. Mr. Sikes never had a problem in the three years he owned this vehicle." 
 
 Sikes is not trying to get famous or rich, Gomez said. The driver will not sue Toyota and is turning down media requests for interviews, he said. 
 
 Regarding the brake wear, Gomez cited a CHP officer's comment that the brakes smelled as he chased Sikes on the freeway. 
 
 The brake wear was not consistent with the brakes being applied at full force for a long period, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing three people familiar with the probe, whom it did not name. The newspaper said the brakes may have been applied intermittently. 
 
 Toyota Corp. spokesman Mike Michels declined to confirm the Journal's report. He said the investigation was continuing and the company planned to release technical findings soon. 
 
 Jill Zuckman, spokeswoman for the U.S. Transportation Department that oversees the highway safety agency, said investigators "are still reviewing data and have not reached any conclusions." 
 
 The findings "certainly raise new questions surrounding the veracity of the sequence of events" reported by Sikes, said Kurt Bardella, a spokesman for San Diego-area U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, the top Republican on the oversight committee. 
 
 Sikes could not be reached to comment. However, his wife, Patty Sikes, said he stands by his story. 
 
 "Everyone can just leave us alone," she said Saturday night. "Jim didn't get hurt. There's no intent at all to sue Toyota. If any good can come out of this, maybe they can find out what happened so other people don't get killed." 
 
 Mrs. Sikes said the couple's lives have been turned upside down since Monday and they are getting death threats. 
 
 "We're just fed up with all of it," she said. "Our careers are ruined and life is just not good anymore." 
 
 Monday's incident appeared to be another blow to Toyota, which has had to fend off intense public backlash over safety after recalls of some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide _ more than 6 million in the United States _ because of acceleration and floor mat problems in multiple models and braking issues in the Prius. Regulators have linked 52 deaths to crashes allegedly caused by accelerator problems. 
 
 Sikes called the emergency dispatcher from the freeway on Monday and reported that his gas pedal was stuck. In two calls that spanned 23 minutes, a dispatcher repeatedly told him to throw the car into neutral and turn it off. Sikes later said he had put down the phone to keep both hands on the wheel and was afraid the car would flip if he put it in neutral at such high speed. 
 
 The officer eventually pulled alongside the car and told Sikes over a loudspeaker to push the brake pedal to the floor and apply the emergency brake. 
 
 Once the car slowed to 50 mph (80 kph), Sikes shut off the engine, the officer said. 
 
 The congressional memo obtained by the AP describes a series of tests conducted by Toyota and the NHTSA on Wednesday and Thursday. A full diagnostics was conducted, followed by an inspection of the brakes and a test drive. Investigators also compared the Sikes vehicle to a 2008 Prius provided by a Toyota dealership. 
 
 NHTSA told congressional staff that the results "were the same on both vehicles and within the manufactures specifications," according to the memo. 
 
 Following the tests, NHTSA paid Sikes $2,500 for the gas pedal, throttle body and the two computers from his vehicle, the memo said. 
 
 Drivers of two other Toyota vehicles that crashed last week said those incidents also resulted from the vehicles accelerating suddenly. 
 
 NHTSA is sending experts to a New York City suburb where the driver of a 2005 Prius said she crashed into a stone wall Monday after the car accelerated on its own. 
 
 And in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the driver of a 2007 Lexus said it careened through a parking lot and crashed into a light pole Thursday after its accelerator suddenly dropped to the floor. That car was the subject of a floor mat recall. Driver Myrna Cook of Paulding, Ohio, said it had been repaired. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Thomas reported from Washington, D.C. ||||| Dow Jones Reprints: This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, use the Order Reprints tool at the bottom of any article or visit www.djreprints.com
– Investigators have not been able to replicate the incident of uncontrolled acceleration a Prius driver says he experienced last week, and the condition of the car's brakes is raising suspicions with federal investigators and Toyota engineers, the Wall Street Journal reports. James Sikes said he lost control of his car near San Diego and slammed on the brakes as it topped 90mph, but the wear pattern on the brakes refutes that. A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration memo prepared for the House oversight committee and leaked to the AP and the Jalopnik blog indicates that the Prius would shut down if strong counteracting forces—such as acceleration and braking—canceled each other out. Said Sikes' wife: "There's no intent at all to sue Toyota. If any good can come out of this, maybe they can find out what happened so other people don't get killed."