August 28th, 2012
10:36 AM ET

With accelerator jammed at 120 mph, woman fears imminent death

A police dashcam video shows a dark SUV flying past cars and blowing through construction.

The driver's 911 call tells the rest of the story:  Lauri Ulvestad, utterly terrified, frantically steering a 2011 Kia Sorrento with a jammed accelerator taking it to speeds up to 120 mph.

“I told the dispatcher to tell my family I loved them,” Ulvestad, 47, told CNN.com by phone. “I did not think I was going to make it.”

Ulvestad credits dispatcher Kelly Brieg with keeping her calm and ultimately saving her life.

The Ames, Iowa, resident’s wild ride through Missouri and her home state of Iowa on Interstate 35 lasted about 30 minutes, Ulvestad told CNN affiliate KCCI. She was finally able to stop her car by simultaneously lifting up the accelerator and pushing the brake. She was not injured.

Irvine, California-based Kia Motors America Inc., issued the following statement to CNN:

"Our technicians have been unable to duplicate the issue and this appears to be an isolated incident. KMA will continue to investigate and analyze the facts of this situation and will work with the customer to resolve the matter in a timely manner."

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Filed under: Auto Industry • Automobiles
soundoff (134 Responses)
  1. mandfkiwsa

    "She was finally able to stop her car by simultaneously lifting up the accelerator and pushing the brake." That's usually called, uh, stopping.

    September 19, 2012 at 2:09 pm | Report abuse |
    • Andres

      Lol, awesome

      September 22, 2012 at 6:23 pm | Report abuse |
  2. tcc

    Accelerator stuck = throw in neutral. This woman had to call 911, and even then, that isn't the solution she was provided???

    September 19, 2012 at 3:22 pm | Report abuse |
    • The King

      For all of you nimrods who didn't actually watch the video, the dispatcher DID tell her to put it into neutral. She said that she couldn't.

      September 26, 2012 at 8:20 am | Report abuse |
  3. waterford

    This is the big problem with computers controlling all the systems starting and shifting. They do need to leave 1 or 2 items mechanical. Wait until the google car takes off and does the steering too.

    September 21, 2012 at 12:36 pm | Report abuse |
  4. omdmp

    What a nim-rod...really? 911 call ffor a stuck accelerator (How the heck did the operator not say "Shift to neutral"?)?

    LAME – Hand over your keys and license, you can now rely on public transportation.

    Shift to newtral! DURRRRR

    Tcc...sorry to repeat, but I had to get that out.

    September 25, 2012 at 8:13 pm | Report abuse |
    • The King

      For you, the nimrod who didn't actually watch the video, the dispatcher DID tell her to put it into neutral. She said that she couldn't.

      September 26, 2012 at 8:21 am | Report abuse |
  5. lolita from rhode island

    2011 Kia Sorrento. We have a huge variety of vehicles to choose from. Kia: Drive at your own risk.

    September 26, 2012 at 12:12 pm | Report abuse |
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