Driver Feared Death in 125 Mph Runaway Car
Tue Oct 5,10:54 AM ET Oddly Enough - Reuters
PARIS (Reuters) - A mobile phone call may have saved the life of a panic-stricken French driver who found himself hurtling down a motorway at 125 mph but unable to slow down because of a mystery fault with his luxury saloon car.
The driver called police to say the cruise control of his Renault Vel Satis had jammed while overtaking a lorry, and that all attempts to brake or put the automatic into neutral had failed, police said Tuesday.
The driver became increasingly sure he was about to die as his top-of-the-range model raced toward a toll station on the A71 motorway between Bourges and Clermont-Ferrand, the police officer who took the call Sunday said.
"He was panicking. He was doing between 180 kph and 200 kph (110 mph to 125 mph) all the time. He was doing 140 kph (87 mph) and then the car just accelerated away on its own," officer Patrick Majerus said.
The driver, Hicham Dequiedt, veered left and right to avoid traffic and even switched at times to the hard shoulder reserved for rescue vehicles, in order to avoid vehicles in his path.
"He thought he was finished. I'm not surprised he was scared -- it's not easy to go through a toll station at 200 kph, the gap is pretty tight," Majerus said.
Police attempting to escort him along the motorway found they were quickly overtaken. Dequiedt eventually managed to cut the engine and came to a halt around 12 miles from the toll station, which had been evacuated as a precaution.
Renault boss Louis Schweitzer said he was mystified by the incident, telling LCI television: "As its been described to me, this incident surprises me and seems highly improbable."
A spokesman said Renault experts were inspecting the electronic speed control, brakes and automatic gearbox of the car. The results should be known by early Wednesday. |
