A Toyota Prius accelerated out of control on a busy California freeway on Monday before police intervened to bring the vehicle to a standstill, police said. James Sikes, 61, was driving on the busy Interstate 8 freeway outside San Diego when he noticed his car was starting to accelerate of its own accord, the California Highway Patrol said.
The terrified motorist was helpless as the car hurtled out of control along the road at speeds more than 90 miles per hour.
However Sikes was able to call police, and officers using a loudspeaker were talked the driver through the process of slowing down by using his emergency brake and then turning off the engine.
Police then pulled in front of the car as it decelerated and rolled to a stop and put the rear bumper of the squad car against the front of the Prius.
The incident came as Toyota staged a technical demonstration on Monday to attack allegations by a vocal critic that problems with its electronics may cause its cars to speed out of control.
In recent months, Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide due to acceleration issues.
The latest incident in California was a chilling echo of the incident last August where off-duty California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor was killed along with his wife, her brother and the Saylors' 13-year-old daughter when the accelerator of the Lexus ES350 they were in got stuck.
Minutes later, the Toyota-manufactured vehicle slammed into the back of a sport utility vehicle at about 100mph, veered off the freeway, overturned and burst into flames. All four family members died.
