IF YOU OWN A TOYOTA, LEARN ABOUT YOUR OPTIONS HERE
California Highway Patrol officer Todd Neibert talks about helping driver James Sikes with his runaway Toyota Prius at a news conference held Tuesday, March 9, 2010 in El Cajon, Calif. Sikes, 61, was driving east on Interstate 8 near Lake Jennings Park Road at 1:30 p.m. when he tried to pass a slower car, according to the California Highway Patrol's account of the incident. Sikes then noticed that the Prius seemed to be accelerating on its own. Sikes attempted to bring the car under control himself, and then called 911.
The 911 tape starts with the operator asking Sikes if he has an emergency. "My car won't slow down," answers Sikes. After telling the operator where he is and what kind of car he's operating, he again tells the operator, "My accelerator is stuck. Yeah, I pulled it back, I tried pulling it back, pulling it back, but it's stuck."
Toyota With 'Stuck' Accelerator Hits 94 MPH, Driver Rescued by California Highway PatrolToyota Slams Sudden Acceleration Research of Auto ExpertMore from Brian Ross and the Investigative TeamAs Sikes would later explain during a press conference, he held on to his steering wheel and tried to pull the accelerator pedal back with his right hand. "I thought it was maybe stuck," he said. "Somehow the pedal was stuck. But it wasn't stuck on anything that was visible."
IF YOU OWN A TOYOTA, LEARN ABOUT YOUR OPTIONS HERE
The Prius had reached more than 80 miles per hour when the operator told Sikes she was notifying a highway patrol officer. Sikes can then be heard saying, "A truck" and "S__t." Sikes said later that he had to avoid several big rigs during the incident.
The operator asks Sikes to check his floor mats and to try to put the car into neutral, and to press down on the brakes for five seconds. Sikes, who has sounded fairly calm, throughout the incident, starts to moan as these various measures fail.
