James Sikes, who was driving his 2008 Toyota Prius, said he was standing on the brake pedals, but that his car would not stop and he called 911 and a patrol car was sent out to bring him to a halt in a controlled crash. A patrol officer caught up to the Prius about 20 minutes later after drove his car parallel to the speeding Prius, and used a loudspeaker to tell James Sikes about hold down the brake, apply the emergency brake and turn off the engine once the vehicle slowed.

The Toyota Prius that was driving by the James Sikes was one of more than 4 million Toyota vehicles that recalled in November because of the reported acceleration problems. However Toyota Motors said in a statement that they were sending a technical specialist to San Diego to investigate the report and offer assistance.