10:25 am, March 26, 2024
Car maker Jaguar Land Rover has strongly denied media reports that a ‘rogue’ E-Pace was to blame for a dramatic multiple-car collision.
The owner of the £47,000 mild-hybrid claims that the car ‘took on a mind of its own’ outside Bournemouth train station, ploughing into a Porsche Boxster and Tesla Model Y.
The Tesla was shunted into a Mercedes C-Class during the incident, with damage to the four vehicles valued at around £150,000.
The E-Pace owner – Bournemouth resident Andrew Key – says the car was ‘faulty’ and ‘uncontrollable’, and he placed the blame at the door of JLR.
However, an investigation by the car maker, supported by the DVSA, found no evidence of any vehicle fault.
The incident was captured on film by the Tesla’s on-board cameras and the footage has been sent to Car Dealer by Key.
The 60-year-old’s explanation for the crash has been widely reported in the national press, but in conversations with Car Dealer JLR continued to maintain its car wasn’t at fault.
A spokesperson for the Midlands-based car maker said a full investigation had been carried out and it was unable to identify any fault.
A JLR representative told Car Dealer that Key’s claims were ‘categorically untrue’ and ‘contradicted the outcome of an investigation’. They added that any claims that the vehicle went ‘rogue’ were ‘unsubstantiated’.
The firm also told Car Dealer that it was unable to make public the telematics data from the car, due to GDPR.
In a public statement, JLR said: ‘Following an investigation into this, it was found there had been no brake failure, nor any other issue with the vehicle.’
Key, a business owner, told Car Dealer that the vehicle careered backwards into the Porsche without him touching the pedals while he was waiting in the pick-up and drop-off area at Bournemouth railway station.
The SUV ended up on the roof of the sports car before video footage then shows the Jag veering forwards, which he alleges happened ‘without touching the accelerator’, and ploughed right into the back of a Tesla Model Y.
Thankfully, there was nobody in the Porsche at the time of the incident and the female driver of the Tesla was uninjured.
The E-Pace was written off in the crash and Key is now driving a Dacia Stepway.
‘Complaint closed’
Despite the investigation, Key remains steadfast in his assertion that he didn’t touch the accelerator.
He told Car Dealer: ‘It was in park, the engine was off. I had my hand on the door ready to get out of the car and then suddenly I became aware of moving.
‘I hit the brakes and nothing happened. The car continued to accelerate and within a second I was on top of the Porsche Boxster.
‘Jaguar went to inspect the vehicle and examine the telematics, the black box data and stuff, and they sent me a report back and said basically it was down to me – that I’d put my foot straight on the accelerator and it moved back.
‘Their view is I hit the accelerator, that’s all there is to it and they’ve closed the complaint.’
Dorset Police said that Key was issued with a fixed penalty notice in relation to the crash.
A spokesman for the force said: ‘At 5.28pm on Wednesday 18 October 2023, Dorset Police received a report of a four-vehicle road traffic collision at Bournemouth railway station.
‘Officers attended the scene. No injuries were reported and following inquiries by officers, no arrests were made.
‘A 60-year-old man from Bournemouth received a fixed penalty notice for a driving offence.’
