A North Dakota teenager said he thought he was “going to die” when his SUV sped to more than 110 mph (177 kph) without slowing down. However, his life was saved by intentionally hitting him in the rear. Minnesota State Police patrol cruiser.
On the night of September 17, 18-year-old Sam Dutcher was driving near Harwood, relatively close to the Minnesota border, North Dakota television station WDAY reported. His Honda Pilot suddenly accelerated to 113 miles per hour on its own. Its speed was such that it was virtually impossible to survive a collision.
Dutcher tried to stop the car, but it spun out of control and called police for help while driving through Clay County, Minnesota, about 40 miles away.
Video from inside a patrol cruiser driven by a local sheriff’s deputy who responded to Dutcher’s call shows the law enforcement officer asking, “Does nothing happen when you hit the brakes?”
Indeed, nothing happened when Dutcher tried it. I couldn’t even turn the car off or put it in neutral. At that point, Dutcher said in an interview with WDAY, “The thought started going through my head: ‘I’m going to die tonight.'”
He also described thinking, “This is accelerating – (and) my foot isn’t on the gas pedal.”
Officers first attempted to stop Dutcher’s SUV by deploying a device known as a stop stick, which is designed to deflate a vehicle’s tires. But that didn’t work, and Dutcher took alternative action about three miles from the T-intersection at the end of the road he was traveling on, WDAY reported.
The deputy instructed Dutcher to intentionally crash into the back of a Minnesota State Patrol patrol vehicle. Meanwhile, Trooper Zack Gruber sped up, positioned himself in front of Dutcher, and activated the cruiser’s anti-collision sensors.
“Yes, just ram into the back of the car,” the deputy reassured the unsure Dutchman, as video from the officer’s cruiser showed.
Dutcher did as he was told. He rammed his SUV into the back of Gruber’s cruiser, and both eventually came to a stop. The white-knuckle episode reportedly lasted about 20 minutes and ended with no injuries.
In a statement on Facebook Tuesday, the Minnesota State Patrol said, “Deputies rarely give orders to hit a state patrol car, but by hitting Trooper Zach Gruber’s squad car, he killed an 18-year-old. We were able to save Sam Dutcher’s life.” ”
Gruber told ABC: I think at the end of the day, I just had the fastest car and was able to get out in front of him. ”
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Authorities have not said what caused Dutcher’s car to accelerate. As The Wall Street Journal previously reported, so-called sudden, unintentional accelerations can commonly occur for a variety of reasons, ranging from pressing the wrong pedal inside the car to mechanical or electrical problems with the vehicle. There is a gender.
Honda later released a statement to ABC News saying Honda was “grateful” that Dutcher was safe and thanked “law enforcement for their role in assisting in stopping the vehicle.” said. In a statement, Honda said: “We cannot make any assumptions about the problem you may have experienced without a thorough inspection. If it has not already occurred, we encourage your family to tow your vehicle to an authorized Honda dealer for inspection. I recommend that you get it.”
Dutcher told WDAY how she finally realized that her death “really just happened.”
Nevertheless, he has since returned to classes at Minnesota State University-Moorhead, where he is studying mechanics.
