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SEARCHA CHP patrol officer caught up to the Prius about 20 minutes later and used a loudspeaker to tell the driver to apply his emergency brake in tandem with the brake pedal, Landeros said.
The driver of a Toyota Prius who called 911 on Monday to report his accelerator was stuck finally got the car stopped after about 20 minutes with the help of the California Highway Patrol, officers said.
"He was reaching speeds over 90 miles per hour," CHP Officer Larry Landeros said of the driver, James Sikes.
The cellphone call came about 1:30 p.m. from the driver of the blue 2008 Prius eastbound on Interstate 8 in San Diego County.
I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny . . . it jumped and it just stuck there," Sikes, 61, said at a news conference. "As it was going, I was trying the brakes . . . it wasn't stopping."
A CHP patrol officer caught up to the Prius about 20 minutes later and used a loudspeaker to tell the driver to apply his emergency brake in tandem with the brake pedal, Landeros said.
Once the Prius' speed dropped to about 50 mph, Sikes turned off the engine and was able to coast to a stop, the officer said.
