Current:Home > Stocks'I am going to die': Video shows North Dakota teen crashing runaway car at 113 mph -Wealth Legacy Solutions
'I am going to die': Video shows North Dakota teen crashing runaway car at 113 mph
View
Date:2025-04-17 07:11:45
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! (442)
Related
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- 'Effective immediately': University of Maryland frats, sororities suspended amid hazing probe
- Nashville woman missing for weeks found dead in creek as homicide detectives search for her car
- Ted Lasso's Brendan Hunt and Fiancée Shannon Nelson Welcome Baby No. 2
- Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
- EAGLEEYE COIN: Cryptocurrencies Walk Through Darkest Hour
- Washington state lawmakers approve police pursuit and income tax initiatives
- Rita Moreno calls out 'awful' women in Hollywood, shares cheeky 'Trump Sandwich' recipe
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- GM recalls nearly 820,000 pickup trucks over latch safety issue
Ranking
- New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
- TLC's Chilli is officially a grandmother to a baby girl
- 16 and Pregnant Star Sean Garinger Dead at 20 After ATV Accident
- Rita Moreno calls out 'awful' women in Hollywood, shares cheeky 'Trump Sandwich' recipe
- New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
- Regulator proposes capping credit card late fees at $8, latest in Biden campaign against ‘junk fees’
- 5-time Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey kills and guts a moose that got entangled with his dog team
- EAGLEEYE COIN: Hong Kong's Development of Virtual Asset Market Takes Another Step Forward
Recommendation
Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
'Effective immediately': University of Maryland frats, sororities suspended amid hazing probe
A record on the high seas: Cole Brauer to be first US woman to sail solo around the world
Want to eat more whole grains? You have a lot of options. Here's what to know.
Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
Wendy's is offering $1, $2 cheeseburgers for March Madness: How to get the slam dunk deal
Which Super Tuesday states have uncommitted on the ballot? The protest voting option against Biden is spreading.
Dodge muscle cars live on with new versions of the Charger powered by electricity or gasoline