How to stop an out-of-control car

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (WPRI) - Another tale of terror from the highway. A driver of a Toyota Prius said he couldn't get his car to stop.

The question is would you know what to do if your car suddenly accelerated? Unfortunately your first instinct may be dead wrong.

The driver of the 2008 Prius says he'll never drive it again.

James Sikes said, "I was on the brakes pretty healthy but it wasn't doing anything to it. It just kept speeding up."

Sikes says his gas pedal got stuck while driving on a San Diego freeway. His car topping 90 miles an hour, after what seemed like an eternity, Sikes said his car came to a stop after pressing the brake hard and applying the emergency brake.

What would you do if your car suddenly accelerated out of control? Most drivers we spoke with have no idea.

So what should you do?

• Put your car into neutral
• Next, press the brake pedal hard
• Pull over and shut car off.

This is what you should never do.

• Never pump the brakes

Sean Kane says, "You're going to lose your power assist if you pump the brakes."

Never shut the car off or take the key out of the ignition while driving you can lose your power steering and braking.

Kane says in many of the sudden unintended cases reported victims thought they were in neutral, but really weren't. He blames a bad design of the gear shift that makes neutral hard to find, and by doing that the car continues to be in drive mode.

That's why it's so important to practice putting your car into neutral so you're prepared in case of an emergency.

By the way, the owner of the Prius says he received a recall notice for the floor mat problem, but when he took his car to a dealership two weeks ago, he says the dealership insisted his car wasn’t part of the recall.

The driver didn’t question it. However, according to government documents, the 2008 Prius is included in the floor mat recall