CHICO — As the list of Toyota models suspected of having safety-related mechanical issues continues to grow, a Chico woman has reported a terrifying experience with a model that hasn't yet been mentioned.

Lindsay Hutcheson, 28, said she thought her ride in a 1999 Toyota Solara Friday night might be her last, when the accelerator stuck as she was getting onto Highway 99 from East 20th Street.

Fortunately, Hutcheson said, northbound traffic was light and she didn't have to swerve around any other cars as the Toyota accelerated, on its own, to about 80 mph.

Hutcheson said she "stood on the brakes" with both feet, but could only get the car slowed to about 65 mph.

The car belongs to her best friend, Lindsey Eisheotawy. Her friend had just picked up a rental car at Sears that her family planned to drive to Disneyland the next day. Hutcheson was driving her friend's car back to her residence, so it wouldn't have to be left in the mall parking lot over the weekend.

To make matters worse, Hutcheson said her friend's 7-year-old son decided he wanted to ride with her, and was in the back seat of the Toyota when the trouble started.

At first Hutcheson thought it was a problem with the brakes. She said she never suspected the accelerator.

Hutcheson said she remained calm enough to tell the boy in the back seat to make sure he had his seat belt on, and told him he had to be quiet. She recalled him saying only, "I don't want to die."

When she couldn't
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get the car under control after several seconds, she called the owner of the car, who was well ahead of her on the freeway. "I can't slow the car down, am I doing something wrong?" Hutcheson asked. She said her friend replied by letting out a scream.

Hutcheson then called 9-1-1.

California Highway Patrol dispatcher Eric Russell took her call. She told him where she was and said she couldn't get the car stopped no matter how much brake pressure she applied.

"He asked me if my accelerator was stuck," Hutcheson recalled.

She then did the absolute last thing she wanted to do, she pressed on the accelerator. "It was limp," she said. "It wasn't doing anything."

Although 9-1-1 tapes don't include it, Hutcheson said she thought she heard Russell instructing her to "pump" the accelerator. She did.

"Within a few seconds I heard a click, and it was back to normal," Hutcheson said.

She immediately got off the freeway at Cohasset Road, parked the car at a gas station, and turned off the engine.

Just minutes before, Hutcheson said her mind had been racing with ways she might be able to stop the car. She said driving into a large field in front of the Pleasant Valley Baptist Church at Highway 99 and Garner Lane, not far from her home, came to mind as a possibility.

She also worried about encountering a red traffic signal and making a curve on 99 near the church at 65 mph.

"I knew a crash was imminent," she said. The daughter of a former law enforcement officer, Hutcheson said she even considered asking the CHP to put down a spike strip on the road that would puncture her tires.

If it should ever happen again, Hutcheson said she'll remember to put the car in neutral.

Hutcheson said her friend told her husband to get rid of the car. "She told me she'll never drive it again. Ever."

Her backup car is a Mitsubishi.

Hutcheson said she "stood on the brakes" with both feet, but could only get the car slowed to about 65 mph.