I don't watch a lot of television but I bet I've heard at least 10 different reports or references to the runaway Prius in California. Now it appears it might be a hoax.
The first report I saw was when CNBC cut into their normal broadcast to show live footage from a TV helicopter that showed a CHP vehicle in front of the Prius on the side of the highway. The report indicated the CHP responded to a request for assistance when the owner could not stop his Prius as it raced down the highway at speeds up to 94 MPH.
Later that day I saw news footage featuring a computer animation of a CHP partol car racing down the highway to catch up to the runaway Prius and then coaching the driver how to slow it down.
Finally, I saw numerous reports where the driver performed media interviews at the dealership with the Toyota Brand Logo prominently displayed in the background.
After all that coverage, now it's starting to look like this might be the next "Balloon Boy" hoax. Here's a link to a TV news report that sparks questions about the owner of the vehicle and the claims he's making -
click here
The other piece of information I read that I thought was interesting is the driver of the vehicle made TWO phone calls to the CHP dispatcher and the timing between the calls and the conclusion of the event was over 20 minutes. Seems hard for me to believe that someone could spend 20 minutes in a runaway car without figuring out some type of a solution.