Police Help Stop 90mph Runaway Prius

In yet another runaway Toyota incident, a man called 911 yesterday when his 2008 Prius went out of control on Interstate 8 near San Diego, hitting 90mph and refusing to decelerate. When driver James Sikes tried to pass another car, he says the gas pedal “jumped and it just stuck there. I was trying the brakes … it wasn’t stopping.” A police car was dispatched, and zipped in front of Sikes to shield other cars.

The officer then told Sikes by megaphone to hit his emergency brake, which slowed the car to about 50 mph. At that point Sikes turned off the engine, and the car slowed to a stop, reports the Los Angeles Times. Toyota says it’s sending an investigator to examine the car. Sikes’ model was part of Toyota’s massive recall, but he tells a local TV station that his dealership told him it wasn’t when he tried to turn it in.
(More Toyota stories.)