Yesterday a California Highway Patrol officer helped stop a runaway Toyota Prius on a San Diego County freeway. The Prius had reached 94 mph after the car’s accelerator became stuck, but luckily the officer was able to bring the car safely to a halt.
In what is worse news for Toyota, the owner of the Prius, James Sikes, said that he took his Prius to an El Cajon dealership for repairs after receiving a recall notice, but he was turned away.
“I gave them my recall notice and they handed it back and said I’m not on the recall list,” Sikes said.
Sikes called 911 around 1:30 pm after accelerating to pass another vehicle on Interstate 8 when he realized that he could not control the Prius.
“I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny … it jumped and it just stuck there,” the 61-year-old driver said.
“As it was going, I was trying the brakes … it wasn’t stopping, it wasn’t doing anything and it just kept speeding up,” Sikes said, adding he could smell the brakes burning he was pressing the pedal so hard.
Eventually a patrol car pulled alongside the Prius and the officers told Sikes to push the brake pedal to the floor and pull the emergency brake. A steep upgrade also helped slow the vehicle. Once the car slowed to 50 mph SIkes turned off the engine and coasted. The officer eventually maneuvered his car in front of the Prius as a precautionary block.
Full Story: Detroit News
