Dispatcher Helps Panicked Motorist With Runaway Car
LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE (CBS) — A Los Angeles sheriff's dispatcher helped a panicked motorist stop her runaway car.
The woman was behind the wheel of a Ford Escort on Monday when she her accelerator got stuck as she drove at about 25 mph on Foothill Boulevard with her 4-year-old daughter in La Canada Flintridge.
The woman dialed 911 and told dispatcher Richard Engersbach she was approaching a red light and couldn't stop the car.
"She was driving a Ford Escort with (her) small child as her passenger," said Lt. Angela Shepherd of the Crescenta Valley Station. "The female began to panic on the phone, because she was approaching a red light and her vehicle would not stop."
Engersbach told the driver to put the car in neutral and turn off the engine. The car slowed down and came to a stop before it reached the intersection.
"Due to his quick thinking and calm demeanor, he helped the caller stop her vehicle, which prevented a serious traffic collision and possibly serious injuries or even death to the caller and her child," Shepherd said.