911 Call Details Scary Ride For Driver With Stuck Accelerator
GENESEE, Colo. (CBS4)- A driver's accelerator gets stuck as he's traveling down from the mountains along Interstate 70.
He calls 911 for help as his vehicle reaches speeds of more than 100 mph and races out of control.
"The accelerator is like, sticking and then it stops and then it's sticking and then it stops and I don't know what to do!" driver Greg Gill told a 911 operator on Saturday.
Gill noticed something was wrong while he was traveling eastbound on Interstate 70 near the Empire exit. He drove 25 miles, topping speeds of 100 miles per hour before coming to a crashing halt just past Genesee.
Throughout the trip his car came dangerously close to hitting other vehicles on I-70.
"There's cars in front of me. Oh my God, there's a motor home!" said Gill on the 911 call.
Gill recounted his harrowing experience after he crashed his car and was able to walk away, "I flew by motor homes. I flew by vehicles and I went into the right median and the left median and everything I could do to just get around people without causing any kind of accidents."
The 911 call lasted more than 20 minutes as an operator tried to help Gill slow down.
Gill: "Oh my God, there's cars in front of me, I'm going to shift down."
911 operator: "Shift down, shift down, shift down. Do what you gotta do to keep yourself safe."
At that point, Gill began to pray,"Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for our sinners."
When the stop sticks and shifting the car into a lower gear don't work, the 911 operator directs Gill to the upcoming runaway truck ramp.
911 operator: "Do you see the truck ramp?"
Gill: Yes. Okay, here goes... screaming... Oh, my God!
That sent the car veering back onto I-70 where it eventually crashed and stopped. Gill was not hurt and neither was his dog, also in the car.
Gill said he was having trouble the week before the accident but a mechanic couldn't find anything wrong. Colorado State Patrol is investigating the incident.
Eastbound lanes of I-70 were closed for about two hours after the crash.
