Electric Jaguar I-Pace driver recalls horrifying moment brakes failed at 100mph on busy M62

A driver, trapped behind the wheel of an out-of-control Jaguar I-Pace, recounted his terrifying experience as the car accelerated to speeds of up to 100mph on the busy M62 motorway, all without functioning brakes. Nathan Owen, 31, told MailOnline how he narrowly escaped disaster during his commute home from his first day at a new job when his 2019 electric vehicle began malfunctioning, triggering a major police operation lasting 35 minutes before his car was finally brought to a halt.

Mr Owen revealed that a similar incident had occurred in December, with his car reaching speeds of up to 120mph. Despite reporting the issue to Jaguar, he claims the car was returned to him just 24 hours later without resolution. Expressing his fear during the ordeal, he admitted that it was just an accident waiting to happen. He said: "In the back of my mind, I was thinking I'm going to end up crashing the car, I'm going to kill myself or I'm going to kill an innocent person on the roads."

Dramatic images captured the scene as the Jaguar was surrounded by police vehicles on the motorway. Jaguar Land Rover has confirmed an investigation into the incident, raising concerns about the safety of electric vehicles. Mr Owen, still shaken by the experience, recounted how he was instructed by emergency services to manoeuvre his car onto the hard shoulder while they coordinated efforts to bring it to a stop.

Greater Manchester Police, Merseyside Police and North West Motorway Police were called out to the runaway Jaguar I-Pace on Wednesday afternoon (March 6). Officers had to "swarm" the vehicle with several police cars to ram it and slow it down and make it stop. The black Jaguar, costing up to £80,000 when new, was caught in a collision with two Matrix police cars from Merseyside Police on the westbound lane between J11 for Birchwood and J12 for Eccles.

He described the terrifying moments of weaving between lanes with police vehicles guiding him, fearing for his safety and that of the officers. Eventually, as the electric car's battery depleted, it gradually slowed down, allowing the police to intervene and safely halt the vehicle. He said: "The car was in its own world - it just had no brakes. The worst thing about it is that it's happened before."

Mr Owen, who was still shaken up by the incident, told how he was driving home from his new job working as a crisis support worker with children in Ormskirk, Liverpool, when he tried to overtake another car at around 2.30pm.

He said: "The car literally just started speeding up. I couldn't press the brakes. The speed was going towards about 100mph in the high 90s, going to 100. I thought this was a bit wrong. It came up on the dashboard saying there was a battery malfunction in my car. I kept trying to press the brakes but nothing was happening. So the next thing I thought I should do was call 999 and tell them what was happening."

Mr Owen, currently residing in Bolton, Greater Manchester, found himself in a nerve-wracking situation when he was surrounded by a convoy of at least eight vehicles from Merseyside Police and Greater Manchester Police while traveling down a busy motorway. The police officer he was speaking to on the phone instructed him to move into the hard shoulder with his hazard lights on and to keep a safe distance from other vehicles. Feeling terrified, Mr Owen had to navigate through the hard shoulder and slow lane to avoid exits and junctions.

As the situation intensified, a convoy of police cars formed around Mr Owen's vehicle, positioning themselves in front, behind, and alongside him. He was directed to transition to the fast lane and follow the police cars. Two lanes of the motorway were closed off by officers to safely bring his vehicle to a halt and assist him.

Describing the ordeal, Mr Owen expressed his fear of potentially causing harm to himself or the police officer in front of him as he was hitting speeds of about 90mph and his car was swaying side to side with each impact. The tense situation finally came to an end when Mr Owen's electric car began to run out of miles, allowing the police to bring his vehicle to a stop.

He said after experiencing a series of incidents with the car, he said he would definitely not be getting a Jaguar or an electric car again. He said: "I just know I'll never be getting into this car again. I just wish that I would have got help with it the first time I had the problems, and I didn't just get given back the car."

The Jaguar I-Pace is set to be discontinued before the company's relaunch in 2025. The car was reportedly only sold to make sure the company met its emissions targets. The model has also been used as a rapid response vehicle for West Midlands Ambulance Service. Jaguar Land Rover has confirmed it is investigating Wednesday's incident as a priority.