We had a family friend who driving on I-95 south when this actually happened. When we heard that this was being reenacted, we watched it during its first airing and it was my very first Rescue 911 episode I ever saw. FYI: The final scene with the car crashes was reenacted on I-95 Business/US 301 just north of Fayetteville. You can see the "Dobbin Holmes Road" exit sign in the background. They also filmed a scene near Rocky Mount on Exit 138 (US 64 interchange).
It’s been 30 years since this happened. I was 11 and my brother Andrew was 2 weeks shy of his 9th birthday at the time. It also happened 8 days before Labor Day. Today Sylesia is 51 now. I’m sure she said “Thank you” to those who helped her.
That was an impressive feat of driving that she performed. I am also genuinely impressed that the tires on the Volkswagen Jetta held up under that kind of speed with that kind of hard maneuvering. There is no way that she had W or Z rated tires on that car. I have above average tires on my car, and there is no way that they would have lasted that long at over 100 miles an hour with that kind of maneuvering.
Today’s the 28th anniversary of when this happened. I was scared out of my wits when I saw this happen. I live in North Carolina myself now. This happened on a Sunday.
Best advertisement for a VW Jetta I've ever seen. Goes for over an hour at WOT and doesn't overheat, throw a rod, or blow a tire. I don't own any foreign cars, but I've had the ignition get stuck in "Run" on my 79 Chevy pickup multiple times. After the 3rd time having to disconnect the coil to shut it off I ended up just breaking the lock cylinder mechanism and it hasn't acted up since. Whether that same thing actually happened to her car, she just panicked, or there's an interlock to keep the key on in Drive (I've seen that before, probably because losing power steering and power brakes is frightening to most people, they try to prevent it except when in Park/Neutral) I cant say.
I can’t pronounce or say that woman’s name, but I could tell that she was hysterical. Selicia is her name and she’s 49 now. Thank goodness that she didn’t kill anyone or herself. I’m sure she thanked everyone who saved her life.
First the car was checked out and it was fine, the next thing she knew, her accelerator got stuck! You just never know when your cars gonna act up on ya.
I was watching Inside Edition today, and there was a story about a car that kept speeding up and couldn't slow down. It made me think of this Rescue 911 segment. There's also an episode of 9-1-1 where a car couldn't stop and was at high speed. That also reminds me of this segment.
She's very lucky she wasn't killed at any time during that whole incident. Someone did a poor job fixing her car because someone could have been killed because of it
definitely a very scary situation to be in ! same goes for loosing your breaks while towing a car " you start down the off ramp and break peddle goes to the floor while towing a full size car ; you got a serious problem ! "
the scenario in the other segment which was part of #pilot2rescue911 is interesting because it was a suicidal driver, and in this segment it has to do with a stuck accelerator and whereas the crash is blacked out on the #rescue911pilot2 segment, this one shows the whole crash 8:32 without the black screen and this is #601 and the other one was #pilot2rescue911/ #106.
She probably is older she in her 49 woman and how do ill that it tells it went took in the ambulance she was 21 but now Probably doesn't drive anymore Hope is alive and well
Even after her car was stopped, the motor could have continued running at it's accelerated pace and blown, causing more injuries that eay from the subsequent explosion.
Imagine what would’ve happened if she did not call the police and the cops were chasing her without knowing the gas pedal was stuck which made it impossible to stop the car
Some modeled vehicle does not allow you to do anything while the car is in drive. Some cars has to be in park to be able to operate, while others have to have the vehicle all the way turned off, first. Each make and modeled vehicles functions operates differently. First off, starting with stick shift, and automatic. Some vehicles manually operates as opening and closing windows, and locking vehicle doors; moving side mirrors, and moving driver's seat forwAard and backward; or automatically. It's just how the vehicle was put together operate by the manufactures.
3 things you do not do in that situation is : jam on the ebreak , 2 jam the shift lever into park Or reverse if it is automatic , 3) make realy quick manuvers unless you have to avoid hitting something ! You turn the wheel to sharp at that rate of seep could cause a role over !
@@CoachTurp well got a couple of options : 1) open door and bail out, OR 2) try down shifting one gear at a time down to low, And ,3) apply the E break slow and steady, ( try 2 and 3 first ); 1 bailing out is not recommended unless you have to ! " by the way if the meddling in-laws are near by trying to use them as a bump stop for a run away car ; not good idea " !
@@jrw3533 . Ok so it wouldn't turn off for some reason. Why couldn't she just put it in neutral? I haven't had a runaway car situation (yet) but I've put my car in neutral and turned it off on downhills when I had overheating problems more than once to help cool it. If she couldn't turn hers off the engine would've just stayed pegged at max RPM til it blew or ran out of gas. I don't get it.
The need a feature in the cars that if the brake pedal is pushed, but the car doesn’t stop it kills the engine, also the police would have a button in their cars to killl the engine of a car. This feature should be standard in every car.
They couldn't figure out 1 thing to help her in one HOUR?! Could they not let the front of her vehicle touch the back of theirs then slowly slow down? Just crazy
a. get out of gear or switch to neutral on an automatic b. switch off the ignition c. Drive into the guardrail at an acute angle STOP SCREAMING better go with train or bus and do not drive a motor vehicle.
@@TheTrueAdept I know it may be harder to do so, but hitting firmly might do the trick. Anyway, switching off the ignition is much easier and more effective. (Then, use the handbrake to fully stop the car) The last resort would be to find a way to crash your car in a controlled way, e.g. find a guardrail to scratch and finally stop your vehicle. No way that you go on with your car for kilometers!
@Chris Bradley driving schools should put more emphasis on the question, how to stop a vehicle if you feel the accelerator cannot go back. There are several ways to stop a car in the case that this should really happen. If there are a number of vehicles in the USA being that unsafe (in my opinion) then the driver s must be qualified to deal with the danger. Here, the minority of cars have automatic transmission and the type approval test make sure that * the brake can always stop a car even if being acceleratd at the same time * ignition can be switched out at every time.
The brakes weren't the problem, the engine was stuck on full throttle. Only way to safely stop in this scenario is to jam the car into neutral, even if the brakes were working she couldn't stop that car
You can turn them from the run position to off, just not all the way back to the lock position. That goes for 1969 and later cars. Also, why do they tell her to just put it in neutral? I haven't driven a car yet where that couldn't be done.
This comment is a few days old, and I can't tell if you meant that sarcastically but cars have that switch, ya know. It's the ignition switch. For some unknown reason, it was blocked.
I have a theory as to why the ignition might not have switched off: Oftentimes, _before_ starting an engine, the steering lock can prevent a driver from being able to turn the key (without moving the steering wheel simultaneously). In this instance however, the ignition was in the 'on' position, leading to a question of exactly *how* the key wouldn't turn. _Maybe,_ the mechanism which locks the ignition in the 'off' position, had somehow rotated around, and when she actually started the engine normally, something in the mechanism had jammed in place, meaning that it couldn't be turned off. Something in the ignition *barrel* may have either worn and/or loosened - and subsequently shifted, to "lock" the engine 'on'. This would then mean that she couldn't turn the key *either* way, without moving the steering wheel as were it in its standard 'off' position. Either a phenomenally unfortunate coincidence, or possibly evil sabotage. Where can I find details of the official investigation in to this?
The steering lock mechanism itself couldn't have blocked the key. It's mechanically not possible. My best guess is that she just tried yanking the key so hard, the whole locking cylinder assembly jammed, which is more likely. As to where to find the details about the investigation: It's gonna be really hard finding something about this incident after 30 years. I found nothing about it.
It's a bad idea, the engine is also turning the power steering pump, and if the engine shuts off while at 100 mph, you've got little to no steering and no power brakes. Some cars to prevent it from happening have a lock inside the keyswitch that prevents turning the key while the car is moving
If anyone is in this situation, the first thing to do is grab the gear selector and jam it it neutral so that the engine isn't turning the wheels. You should never turn engine off if it's running away, it could cause the steering wheel to lock up and the brake assist to stop working and when you're going 110mph, then you'd be in big trouble. Don't pull the handbrake either, you could loose control of the vehicle
Oh DO NOT turn the ignition key off all the way if you have a lock steering wheel ! This should be common sense to anybody who drives ! if you in Rushia and you loose your breaks or gas peddle sticks ; you can use Pudin as a bump stop if he is near by !
Defect car 🚗 scary won't turn off why didn't she just tried shut the key off to turn off the car that she was very lucky she was hopefully she's doing well today in 2022
That poor woman. Those screams are hair-raising. What an amazing survival story!
We had a family friend who driving on I-95 south when this actually happened. When we heard that this was being reenacted, we watched it during its first airing and it was my very first Rescue 911 episode I ever saw.
FYI: The final scene with the car crashes was reenacted on I-95 Business/US 301 just north of Fayetteville. You can see the "Dobbin Holmes Road" exit sign in the background. They also filmed a scene near Rocky Mount on Exit 138 (US 64 interchange).
I thought it was filmed near Fayetteville. I recognized the exit.
Whoa! They actually saw this? I'd be scared out of my mind.
Definitely the kind of a story that deserves to become a movie for theatre screens with the help of Francis Ford Coppola.
It’s been 30 years since this happened. I was 11 and my brother Andrew was 2 weeks shy of his 9th birthday at the time. It also happened 8 days before Labor Day. Today Sylesia is 51 now. I’m sure she said “Thank you” to those who helped her.
That was an impressive feat of driving that she performed. I am also genuinely impressed that the tires on the Volkswagen Jetta held up under that kind of speed with that kind of hard maneuvering. There is no way that she had W or Z rated tires on that car. I have above average tires on my car, and there is no way that they would have lasted that long at over 100 miles an hour with that kind of maneuvering.
If I recall correctly, there was a recall on the VE Jetta years ago…
She was very brave. I can't believe how stupid all of the people on the freeway were to refuse to get out of the way of a police chase.
Today’s the 28th anniversary of when this happened. I was scared out of my wits when I saw this happen. I live in North Carolina myself now. This happened on a Sunday.
Best advertisement for a VW Jetta I've ever seen. Goes for over an hour at WOT and doesn't overheat, throw a rod, or blow a tire. I don't own any foreign cars, but I've had the ignition get stuck in "Run" on my 79 Chevy pickup multiple times. After the 3rd time having to disconnect the coil to shut it off I ended up just breaking the lock cylinder mechanism and it hasn't acted up since. Whether that same thing actually happened to her car, she just panicked, or there's an interlock to keep the key on in Drive (I've seen that before, probably because losing power steering and power brakes is frightening to most people, they try to prevent it except when in Park/Neutral) I cant say.
Best ad for a VW Jetta? Bruh that car wanted her dead lol
I remember seeing that episode on TV originally
I can’t pronounce or say that woman’s name, but I could tell that she was hysterical. Selicia is her name and she’s 49 now. Thank goodness that she didn’t kill anyone or herself. I’m sure she thanked everyone who saved her life.
First the car was checked out and it was fine, the next thing she knew, her accelerator got stuck!
You just never know when your cars gonna act up on ya.
Who was it checked out by
Wow! That must’ve been a very very scary situation for her
I remember watching this same episode years ago glad she survived
Runaway cars aren't pretty sights to see even though they're dangerous vehicles to observe on scary occasions.
This makes me tear up everything I watch it
8:33 slowed down you can see the magnet holding the car as its released on the truck.
I was watching Inside Edition today, and there was a story about a car that kept speeding up and couldn't slow down. It made me think of this Rescue 911 segment. There's also an episode of 9-1-1 where a car couldn't stop and was at high speed. That also reminds me of this segment.
8:32
That driver is so damn lucky
Boy she was awesome I garrentee she did better than the majority of of drivers 😊
Volkswagen was expected a major lawsuit after that incident.
Robert Lopresti and they have to recall
That’s one of the incidents where VW, excuse me for saying this, started getting a reputation As piece of crap cars.
Herbie intensifies
@@SW2799 the only problem i've found with VW cars is oil sludge caused by the owner neglecting it.
@@SW2799
This wasn't so much a manufacturing defect as it was a failure by the mechanic who worked on the car before she left.
I’m glad she’s ok that’s scary 😳😳
Wow, key won't turn off and trans won't come out of gear...
You'd think this was some kind of bad movie.
Whew! God was with her
Spongy brakes is not a joke it’s a nightmare
She's very lucky she wasn't killed at any time during that whole incident. Someone did a poor job fixing her car because someone could have been killed because of it
I'm proud of my state's highway patrol
Same
As a paralegal intern, this accident is lawsuit material.
Against the driver?
@@BrixTremeGeek No, the manufacturer.
@@mlp-violet-star Those times companies always had ruthless lawyers on their side.
Good luck. The auto manufacturer would squash it with their high powered and highly paid attorneys of low morality.
I’m sure there was a lawsuit against Vw…
definitely a very scary situation to be in ! same goes for loosing your breaks while towing a car " you start down the off ramp and break peddle goes to the floor while towing a full size car ; you got a serious problem ! "
Cars should have a kill switch button for emergency
WOW a Caprice that turns into a Crown Vic, that turns back into a Caprice, then back to a Crown Vic then... 😲
the scenario in the other segment which was part of #pilot2rescue911 is interesting because it was a suicidal driver, and in this segment it has to do with a stuck accelerator and whereas the crash is blacked out on the #rescue911pilot2 segment, this one shows the whole crash 8:32 without the black screen and this is #601 and the other one was #pilot2rescue911/ #106.
I’m sure this story was indeed the inspiration for the 1997 TV Movie titled ‘Runaway Car’ starring Judge Reinhold and Nina Siemaszko.
my reason is that her car failed to stop is possibly because her car was possibly losing brake fluid without that her brakes couldn't work well at all
This Sister has such a voice
This incident got turned into the movie, Runaway Car (1997)
Thats it, from now on, im either walking or staying home. (With my luck, id probably get hit by a car anyway. ) 😂😂
they should of had a cop car get in front of her car and have the cop car's back bumper touch the woman's car and try to get it to slow down.
That's what it looked like they were trying to do but she kept swerving when she got close to the cop car.
That's what they was trying to do but you can see her swerving out the way so she wouldn't hit them.
The car chase is a action movie
There is a movie called "Runaway Car" that is the same as this.
Listed on RUclips.
Thank God no one was killed.
Just like in the movie.
@@Dan-uv5lw also #speed.
Was it based on this
@@josephmullin5845 it likely was. That movie is said to have been based on a true story.
Basically reenacting when Jesse in his Jetta lost his race for pink slips with Johnny Tran and just kept driving
That’s crazy you would think letting go of the gas it would slow it down
This August will mark 30 years since that happened, making Sylesia 51.
Glad she's ok she lives in North Carolina I would like to meet her.
Singing Jennifer just curious as to why?
@@loganmalough2379 lol. Like why?
She probably is older she in her 49 woman and how do ill that it tells it went took in the ambulance she was 21 but now
Probably doesn't drive anymore
Hope is alive and well
Even after her car was stopped, the motor could have continued running at it's accelerated pace and blown, causing more injuries that eay from the subsequent explosion.
i wonder how she is doing today
that car is an older model volkswagon jetta
5:51
The siren reminds me so much of the show Emergency
“Stay cool - keep calm”?!!!
Most annoying instructions ever.
As if the lady LIKED to be stuck in such a terrible situation!
That was not a criticism, it was an attempt of preventing a bad situation from becoming worse.
If your car doing that have one car behind you and in front it can stop your car when I do start driving I make sure the brakes are good
I bet this woman will never drive another Volkswagen again
We had the same Volkswagen Jetta.
Funny how they used 2 obviously different looking patrol cars for some of the clips😂
That would be very terrifing if you were in the situation, yikes
My mom once in that situation. How she handled it is she found an empty parking lot and drove around it until she ran out of gas.
@@jtroll0724 wow , brave
@@jtroll0724 did she get dizzy going in cycles?
@@anniegreenwind971
No she didn't get dizzy at all.
Imagine what would’ve happened if she did not call the police and the cops were chasing her without knowing the gas pedal was stuck which made it impossible to stop the car
I do wonder if she would've been able to shout to the cops what was wrong in that case. Question would've been would they have understood her?
God be with you Silesia!❤😂🎉😅😊! 5/1/24. 6:44pm. 10:22
That was the dumbest trooper of all time. The accelerator is sticking....and you tell her to keep driving?
Well she wasn't petty if was petty
He told her let call for tow truck
Get help to check out
Some modeled vehicle does not allow you to do anything while the car is in drive. Some cars has to be in park to be able to operate, while others have to have the vehicle all the way turned off, first. Each make and modeled vehicles functions operates differently. First off, starting with stick shift, and automatic. Some vehicles manually operates as opening and closing windows, and locking vehicle doors; moving side mirrors, and moving driver's seat forwAard and backward; or automatically. It's just how the vehicle was put together operate by the manufactures.
So far I don't know of any car you can't put in neutral while going down the road so I don't know why they just didn't tell her to do that.
3 things you do not do in that situation is : jam on the ebreak , 2 jam the shift lever into park Or reverse if it is automatic , 3) make realy quick manuvers unless you have to avoid hitting something ! You turn the wheel to sharp at that rate of seep could cause a role over !
What do you do?
@@CoachTurp well got a couple of options : 1) open door and bail out, OR 2) try down shifting one gear at a time down to low, And ,3) apply the E break slow and steady, ( try 2 and 3 first ); 1 bailing out is not recommended unless you have to ! " by the way if the meddling in-laws are near by trying to use them as a bump stop for a run away car ; not good idea " !
@@jrw3533 Lol
@@jrw3533 . Ok so it wouldn't turn off for some reason. Why couldn't she just put it in neutral? I haven't had a runaway car situation (yet) but I've put my car in neutral and turned it off on downhills when I had overheating problems more than once to help cool it. If she couldn't turn hers off the engine would've just stayed pegged at max RPM til it blew or ran out of gas. I don't get it.
@@jrw3533 you go ahead and try bailing out of a car at 100+ i'll wait here.
3:07 i have that same patch that officer is wearing and got it from Ebay.
The need a feature in the cars that if the brake pedal is pushed, but the car doesn’t stop it kills the engine, also the police would have a button in their cars to killl the engine of a car. This feature should be standard in every car.
❤GOD was with my cousin GOD Is good all the time😻🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
How’s she doing now
Moral of the story.
If you panic, you will always do stupid shit
0:01 cool season 6th animated bumper as the Rescue 911 title is on the bottom left.
I'm sorry but how is the manufacturer not at fault for this?
They couldn't figure out 1 thing to help her in one HOUR?! Could they not let the front of her vehicle touch the back of theirs then slowly slow down? Just crazy
He was trying to do that, but she kept driving around him.
Was this on the news?
a. get out of gear or switch to neutral on an automatic
b. switch off the ignition
c. Drive into the guardrail at an acute angle
STOP SCREAMING
better go with train or bus and do not drive a motor vehicle.
With some cars, you can't switch it out of gear when the accelerator is on. That VW is sadly one such vehicle.
@@TheTrueAdept I know it may be harder to do so, but hitting firmly might do the trick.
Anyway, switching off the ignition is much easier and more effective.
(Then, use the handbrake to fully stop the car)
The last resort would be to find a way to crash your car in a controlled way, e.g. find a guardrail to scratch and finally stop your vehicle.
No way that you go on with your car for kilometers!
@Chris Bradley
driving schools should put more emphasis on the question, how to stop a vehicle if you feel the accelerator cannot go back.
There are several ways to stop a car in the case that this should really happen.
If there are a number of vehicles in the USA being that unsafe (in my opinion) then the driver s must be qualified to deal with the danger.
Here, the minority of cars have automatic transmission and the type approval test make sure that
* the brake can always stop a car even if being acceleratd at the same time
* ignition can be switched out at every time.
64 minutes. My heavens. 😯😯
The breaks lines ether leaked or rusted away
The brakes weren't the problem, the engine was stuck on full throttle. Only way to safely stop in this scenario is to jam the car into neutral, even if the brakes were working she couldn't stop that car
Luckily no one was killed in the accident
0:02 #rescue911motelhostage (mid season 1) had the same experiment in the #rescue911bumper.
It better get your brakes check the people at the car dealership place should be sued it was her accelerator that cause her car not to stop
6:52 That was close.
I had a 91 Jetta. The red ones are even faster.
Living in the 90s is where I want to be I'm just living in the 90s 02 be free
Can't turn the ignition key with it in gear on many cars. Not a mystery at all imo.
You can turn them from the run position to off, just not all the way back to the lock position. That goes for 1969 and later cars. Also, why do they tell her to just put it in neutral? I haven't driven a car yet where that couldn't be done.
The ignition. Why was she not advised repeatedly.
Cop she is a good driver
Me how many people did I kill
This is why cars need a switch that kills power to, idk the spark plugs or something
This comment is a few days old, and I can't tell if you meant that sarcastically but cars have that switch, ya know. It's the ignition switch. For some unknown reason, it was blocked.
@@Simufreund309 i was a stoopid boy back when I posted this
I have a theory as to why the ignition might not have switched off:
Oftentimes, _before_ starting an engine, the steering lock can prevent a driver from being able to turn the key (without moving the steering wheel simultaneously).
In this instance however, the ignition was in the 'on' position, leading to a question of exactly *how* the key wouldn't turn.
_Maybe,_ the mechanism which locks the ignition in the 'off' position, had somehow rotated around, and when she actually started the engine normally, something in the mechanism had jammed in place, meaning that it couldn't be turned off.
Something in the ignition *barrel* may have either worn and/or loosened - and subsequently shifted, to "lock" the engine 'on'.
This would then mean that she couldn't turn the key *either* way, without moving the steering wheel as were it in its standard 'off' position.
Either a phenomenally unfortunate coincidence, or possibly evil sabotage.
Where can I find details of the official investigation in to this?
The steering lock mechanism itself couldn't have blocked the key. It's mechanically not possible. My best guess is that she just tried yanking the key so hard, the whole locking cylinder assembly jammed, which is more likely.
As to where to find the details about the investigation: It's gonna be really hard finding something about this incident after 30 years. I found nothing about it.
It's a bad idea, the engine is also turning the power steering pump, and if the engine shuts off while at 100 mph, you've got little to no steering and no power brakes. Some cars to prevent it from happening have a lock inside the keyswitch that prevents turning the key while the car is moving
10:48 - problems that caused this
Praise be the Lord
If anyone is in this situation, the first thing to do is grab the gear selector and jam it it neutral so that the engine isn't turning the wheels. You should never turn engine off if it's running away, it could cause the steering wheel to lock up and the brake assist to stop working and when you're going 110mph, then you'd be in big trouble. Don't pull the handbrake either, you could loose control of the vehicle
Neutral
I am a little colored girl from Orange. New Jersey ain’t got no business driving to South Carolina by herself in a Volkswagen.
I hate I-95 it’s always congested with traffic
This is why I never put nomore than 20 dollars worth gas in my gas tank at a time
Do we know if this car was gas or diesel? Could this have been a runaway Diesel engine?
God was her co-pilot
Can somebody imagine if Sylesia's car had landed in a lake at the end?
Does insurance cover that??
maybe, but a law suit does against the manufacturer.
I wonder how old she is now
Well at time she was 21 it say it went took into the ambulance that was 1993
Do the math is she 49 in 2021
Born in 1972
That black car was hit before this accident
Sticking accelerator in a car should be towed
Why did he not just break and let her rear end him and slow her down with his brakes .
I believe he was trying to do that, but she panicked and swerved out of the way.
She didn’t want to hit anyone, she felt horrible for hitting a few after she wrecked
That sucked after that Volkswagen acted up like that
DOES LIKE RONIN!!!!!!
Oh DO NOT turn the ignition key off all the way if you have a lock steering wheel ! This should be common sense to anybody who drives ! if you in Rushia and you loose your breaks or gas peddle sticks ; you can use Pudin as a bump stop if he is near by !
🫂🙏🫶 I would be very scared I think I would made it but I know the Lord and his mighty guardian angels be with me like he was with her 🙏🥺😭
wow
Would have had to make the decision to take her out🥴😮🥺!!
Defect car 🚗 scary won't turn off why didn't she just tried shut the key off to turn off the car that she was very lucky she was hopefully she's doing well today in 2022