Driver wrestles with car for 30 terrifying minutes as it gets stuck in cruise control at 50mph on busy motorway



It should only have taken a touch on the brakes to disengage the cruise control on his 4x4. Or so 22-year-old Chase Weir thought as he neared his motorway exit.

But when he tapped his foot on the brake pedal nothing happened. The car carried on at 50mph. He tried again, but still it sped on.

In fact, it kept going for 25miles as Mr Weir frantically thumped his foot on the brake pedal, yanked on the handbrake and tried to turn off the engine with the ignition key.



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Terror: Chase Weir is taken away on a stretcher to be treated for shock after finally bringing his runaway car to a halt. In the background, his car is towed away

At last: After leaving the handbrake on Chase Weir's car finally stops

'I thought I was dead': Chase Weir recounts his ride of horror on Australian TV

It seemed that only a crash would stop the car and Mr Weir, weaving in and out of city traffic, honking his horn and flashing his lights at other vehicles, became convinced he was going to die.

For 30 minutes, with the help of police, he was able to keep hurtling along. Then he was confronted by the sight he dreaded most - a traffic jam.



He swerved, pulled on the handbrake and stood on the brake pedal.



After what seemed an eternity of screeching he bumped across a traffic island and came to halt inches from another car.

'I really thought I was dead,' he said. 'When the police opened the door and asked if I was OK I have never screamed as much in my life.'



Mr Weir had flicked a switch on his Ford Explorer 4x4 to engage the cruise control when he joined the fast Eastern Freeway leaving Melbourne.

A touch of the brake or accelerator pedal should have put the car back into manual drive.



But when his slip road came up, the cruise control failed to disengage.

Chase's terrifying 25-mile journey led him through the streets of Melbourne to the suburb of Frankston

Mr Weir also called the police.



A van was despatched to get in front of him and, with sirens blaring, ensure that vehicles ahead were moved to other lanes.

His biggest fear as he struggled with the controls was what lay ahead.

Eventually he did run out of motorway and ended up in the suburb of Frankston.

Aided by his police escort, he passed through a busy road junction before reaching another highway - and the traffic jam.

'There was traffic in every lane,' he said. 'I just didn't just have anywhere to go.



'I just put all my weight on that footbrake, pulled on the handbrake again, swerved on the wrong side of the road to avoid running into the back of everyone, went over the concrete road island and bounced a bit.

'I could hear the tyres skidding on the road for what seemed like for ever.

'When I opened my eyes, I was bonnet-to- bonnet with the car in front of me.'

Mr Weir was taken to hospital suffering from shock.

The Explorer is sold in the U.S. and Australia.



A Ford Australia spokesman said the frozen cruise control was not an issue the company had encountered before.