BETHANY, MO — Missouri State Patrol officers frantically dashed up I-35 to rescue a driver unable to stop due to a stuck accelerator while driving Sunday afternoon, Aug. 19, in the northbound lane.
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According to an account published by the Bethany Republican-Clipper, Corporal Justin Johnson and Trooper Ben Hilliard responded to a 911 call logged at 12:20 p.m. A woman driving a Kia Sorento was trying to bring the car under control after the accelerator malfunctioned. The vehicle was traveling at speeds exceeding 100 mph.
The woman was unsuccessful in her attempts to stop the car despite depressing the push-button ignition and to slip the transmission into neutral. Officers provided an escort, trying to clear a path for her while relaying suggestions through county 911 communications. Officers hoped the car would soon run out of gas, but the driver had just filled the tank.
After about five near-crashes (that there were no accidents is a credit to the woman’s good driving skills), Missouri troopers called ahead to the Iowa Highway Patrol but Iowa officials indicated no one was in position along the interstate to stop the car.
About five miles north of Osceola, Iowa, a distance of more than 60 miles from Bethany, the woman was finally able to bring the car into a controlled stop. An Iowa patrolman came to the scene and drove her to a convenience store in Osceola, where her husband from the Des Moines area came to pick her up.