Current:Home > Scams'I am going to die': Video shows North Dakota teen crashing runaway car at 113 mph -Global Finance Compass
'I am going to die': Video shows North Dakota teen crashing runaway car at 113 mph
Poinbank View
Date:2025-04-10 21:32:28
When a North Dakota teen lost control of his accelerating vehicle, police ordered him to crash on purpose to save his life.
Samuel Dutcher, 18, was driving into Minnesota from North Dakota on the night of Sept. 17 when his vehicle would not stop accelerating, the Minnesota State Patrol confirmed to USA TODAY Wednesday. He called 911 and officials worked to find a way to stop the car without the West Fargo resident or anyone else getting hurt.
As his vehicle reached a speed of 113 mph, Minnesota State Trooper Zach Gruver managed to get in front of Dutcher's vehicle by moving at 130 mph and parked his squad car in its path. Clay County Deputy Zach Johnson then made the call for the teen to intentionally crash in a last stitch effort to save his life.
Watch teen saved by vehicle speeding 113 mph.
Deputy ordered teen to crash on purpose
"Yes, run into the back of his car," Johnson told Dutcher that night.
The spontaneous plan unraveled flawlessly with Dutcher saved without a single injury, according to Minnesota State Patrol.
"It’s not very often a sheriff’s deputy orders you to hit a State Patrol vehicle, but hitting Trooper Zach Gruver’s squad helped save 18-year-old Sam Dutcher’s life," state patrol wrote on Facebook.
Driver convinced he was about to die
When the vehicle's computer took over, Dutcher tried everything to stop, including the emergency brake to switching to neutral, according to local station WDAY-TV. Johnson initially told the driver that police were going to put stop sticks in his path but that plan was scrapped as time was running out, WDAY-TV reported.
"It hit me then that this really just happened," Dutcher told the station. "My mind started to go, 'I am going to die tonight.'"
He called his mother Catherine Dutcher, who immediately feared the worst.
"Early, honestly, I was like, 'My kid is probably dead.' I was like, 'God, please don't kill my kid, please don't,'" Catherine said.
Saved from this harrowing experience, Dutcher got to return to his life as an auto mechanics student at Minnesota State Community and Technical College in Moorhead, Minnesota.
Multiple media outlets were reporting the car was a 2022 Honda Pilot but police did not immediately confirm the make and model.
veryGood! (412)
Related
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- Biden tells ABC News debate was a bad episode, doesn't agree to independent neurological exam
- Warriors' Steve Kerr thanks Klay Thompson for '13 incredible years'
- Crews search Lake Michigan for 2 Chicago-area men who went missing while boating in Indiana waters
- Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
- Who is Britain's new Prime Minister Keir Starmer, ushered to power by his Labour Party's election landslide?
- Even the kitchen sink: Snakes and other strange items intercepted at TSA checkpoints
- Never-before-seen Pontiac G8 concept hints at alternate universe awesomeness
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- Marlon Wayans says he was wrong person to rob after home burglary
Ranking
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- Scammers are swiping billions from Americans every year. Worse, most crooks are getting away with it
- Kansas' top court rejects 2 anti-abortion laws, bolstering state right to abortion access
- 2 Mississippi inmates captured after escape from prison
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Taylor Swift plays never-before-heard 'Tortured Poets' track in Amsterdam
- 4 killed, 3 injured in mass shooting at birthday pool party in Florence, Kentucky
- To a defiant Biden, the 2024 race is up to the voters, not to Democrats on Capitol Hill
Recommendation
Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
Costco to pay $2M in class action settlement over flushable wipes: Here's what to know
Fireworks spray into Utah stadium, injuring multiple people, before Jonas Brothers show
As ‘Bachelor’ race issues linger, Jenn Tran, its 1st Asian American lead, is ready for her moment
Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
John Cena announces he will retire in 2025; WrestleMania 41 will be his last
Manhattan townhouse formerly belonging to Barbra Streisand listed for $18 million
An Alaska tourist spot will vote whether to ban cruise ships on Saturdays to give locals a break