Scary Ride in a Prius

A Prius driver went on a wild ride in San Diego.

A driver accelerated on Interstate 8 in La Posta to pass another car; however, the driver could not keep the car from moving at 94 mph afterward. He called 911 and the officers who were dispatched spoke to the driver over loudspeakers, advising him to push the brake pedal and apply the emergency brake.

Along with the car heading up a steep upgrade and their instructions, the car decelerated to about 50 mph and the driver turned off the engine and coasted to a stop with officers surrounding him with their patrol units. The ordeal ended with no incident or injury in this case.

This is scary stuff for Toyota, Toyota owners and the public in general. The debate continues on how this is happening.

Update1: Insideline questions the story  given by the driver of the Prius in California.
Driving for 20 minutes at 90+ mph anywhere in the US, never mind a busy highway?  A Prius 'jumping forward' is just about impossible.  And they show how easy it is to shift the Prius into neutral while driving it.  InsideLine is calling 'BS' and I'm inclined to wonder myself.

Update: Another reported Toyota Prius run away: Yahoo! News

The woman, who was not identified, was driving on a long, curving driveway when the Prius accelerated beyond her control, Marraccini said, adding that the two-lane road she sped across is a "fairly busy" street.

She traveled 150 to 200 feet, he said, before the Prius' front end struck the rock wall -- built with boulders weighing some 500 to 1,000 pounds -- with such force that it "hurled those boulders 10 or 15 feet away."

"The floor mat is not a contributing factor," Marraccini said, adding that it was firmly secured.

He said the car had previously been taken to a nearby Toyota dealership by the owner after the model was recalled.

Toyota recalled 2004-2009 Prius models last November as part of a wide-ranging safety recall to fix loose floor mats that can trap the accelerator and cause unintended acceleration.