Ok, so going back to your original question:
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Does anyone but me see a problem with that call?
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Apparently, the answer is no.
That said, the driver may very well have done the right stuff but not known how in an unfamiliar car because that model has some still unusual features. Here's what one owner posted on a message board:
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This was a horrible accident and like many accidents several things in addition to a stuck accelerator must have occurred to end in such a tragedy. I suspect that since the car was a loaner the driver was unfamiliar with the controls. If this had been a normal car with a key ignition then he could have turned the key to turn off the engine; however, I own an ES350 for many years and I didn’t even know that to turn off the engine of my car while driving, I need to hold the On/Off switch for 3 seconds. Also it is common because of the irregular shift pattern on this vehicle, for new drivers to mistakenly drive in the manual shift mode. In this mode the car will still automatically shift when the RPM’s reach a high enough level; however the N for neutral is located adjacent to the up shift position when in manual shift, so if in an emergency you are unaware of this you would push the shift up to the N position but are actually up shifting the gears.
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It is worth noting that the fact that to turn off the engine while the car is in motion requires pushing the button for 3 seconds is not mentioned in the owner's manual.
And the NHTSB issued a report in 2007 that Lexus drivers have reported difficulty stopping cars with stuck accelerators because of these issues, plus
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With the engine throttle plate open, the vacuum power assist of the braking system cannot be replenished and the effectiveness of the brakes is reduced significantly.
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So it is quite possible that he:
1. Tried to put it in neutral but because the car was in a mode that he may not even have known existed, was not actually performing the maneuver necessary.
2. Then tried to turn off the car but couldn't.
3. And meanwhile he's breaking hard but quickly losing braking power.
4. He's dealing with trying to figure all of this out while weaving through traffic in a car going over 100 miles per hour.
Do I know that is what happened? No, but I wasn't there like you were. If it did, does this mean it was still an avoidable accident. Sure, if that is the lesson one really wants to find in it. The man was trained in advanced driving skills, he was apparently reasonably calm as you hear him providing information on where they are, reports are that he had his hazard lights on. Why jump to the conclusion that he behaved stupidly otherwise? He may have, but why assume it?
Also, you mentioned the time it takes to get up to 120 miles per hour. According
this video, in a Lexus ES350 it takes 11 seconds to go from 0 to 120. 5-6 seconds if you're already going freeway speeds. I imagine most of the time was spend trying to figure out if one's gone crazy and your foot really isn't on the accelerator.