Driver forced to crash into police van after being 'kidnapped' by runaway EV when brakes failed
Brian Morrison said he wants a refund for his MG ZS EV
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A shocked driver was forced to crash into a police van after he was “kidnapped” by his own electric vehicle after it malfunctioned.
Brian Morrison said he was lucky to avoid a significant accident after his six-month MG ZS electric car would not allow him to stop.
The car had suffered a “catastrophic malfunction” and was stuck at 15mph, forcing the driver to ring 999 from inside the car.
The man was driving home from work to his house in Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow, when the incident occurred.
Morrison described how nine warning lights appeared on his dashboard which resulted in him losing control of being able to accelerate or brake.
The police then began following him, escorting him for 15 minutes before suggesting he crash into one of the vans before reaching a roundabout and a busy main road.
Prior to this, the police had attempted to take the key fob and drive away fast in hopes that it would be out of range and cause the vehicle to stop, although this did not work.
Commenting on the incident, Brian Morrison said: “I was terrified - even though I wasn't going a fast speed it's still worrying.
"I used to think 15mph was slow but when you're in a car that can't stop it's not slow - it felt like 60mph,” he told the Scottish Sun.
The driver was then forced to wait a further four hours for the RAC to arrive as it was too dangerous for him to drive the vehicle to a garage.
When the mechanics arrived, they had “three pages of faults”, with the police saying he had never seen anything like it before.
Mr Morrison said he did not want the car back, instead opting for a refund, admitting that it had affected him mentally and that he would not feel safe in the vehicle again.
He hoped that buying an electric car would be “amazing” after seeing them advertised on TV and promoted heavily by the Government.
The 54-year-old continued, saying: "I was taken in by it and was looking forward to it, I got it brand new in March.
"I didn't expect any dangers and then in the last 24 hours, two or three people messaged me to say they had similar experiences but they didn't care, because they put it into the garage to get it fixed.
A statement from MG Motor UK said: “MG Motor UK has been urgently trying to make contact with Mr Morrison so that his vehicle can be fully inspected by our engineering team.
“We take this matter very seriously and now that contact has been made, we will be making every effort to resolve matters quickly and comprehensively for him.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “The car was travelling at a low speed and officers carried out a controlled halt with the aid of a police vehicle.
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“There was no damage to either vehicle. The driver arranged for the vehicle to be recovered.”