THere were 3 adults and one teen in the car.
I timed the 911 call from the time the operator started talking till the call stopped was about 14 seconds,
The time for when this incident started, determine there is a problem, for some one to find the cell phone dial 911, wait for it to ring then the 14 second.....
I'm sure the 911 operator thought it was a prank, his response with out any thought was, ...cant you just turn the key off.
To your question were they too freaked out: They did have some thought process, thinking the 911 operator would be able to summons some sort of rescue vehicle to extract them from the moving vehicle.
The right answers would be
Push the car into neutral: That way you maintain your power steering and power breaks.
Turn the key off: You can still steer and break, just at a slightly increased effort level. With the adrenalin flowing, you wouldn't be abel to tell the difference.