Yesterday afternoon the owner of a 2008 Prius says his accelerator "wouldn't do anything" after becoming stuck on a San Diego interstate.
California Highway Patrol ended up pulling next to the Prius and talking the man through using his emergency and foot brakes to slow the car down. The driver, James Sikes, did not try turning the car off by holding down the Power button while reaching 94 MPH. Early reports stating that the CHP cruiser had to pull in front of the Prius to act as a braking mechanism are false.
On Monday, Sikes called 911 about 1:30 p.m. after accelerating to pass another vehicle on Interstate 8 near La Posta and finding that he could not control his car, the California Highway Patrol said.
"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 at a news conference.
"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.
Toyota is sending a field technician out today to take a look at the car and see what may have caused the out of control acceleration.
Here's a fancy re-creation by the Today Show along with a story on Mr. Sikes' experience.
We'll continue to post updates as they become available.
