Current:Home > Scams'I am going to die': Video shows North Dakota teen crashing runaway car at 113 mph -InfinityFinance
'I am going to die': Video shows North Dakota teen crashing runaway car at 113 mph
View
Date:2025-04-16 17:00:03
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! (4)
Related
- Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
- Auto union boss urges New Jersey lawmakers to pass casino smoking ban
- Live Your Best Life With Kourtney Kardashian Barker’s 12 Days of Pooshmas Holiday Mailer
- Leaders of Guyana and Venezuela to meet this week as region worries over their territorial dispute
- Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
- Teen fatally shot as he drove away from Facebook Marketplace meetup: Reports
- 'We will do what's necessary': USA Football CEO wants to dominate flag football in Olympics
- Are the products in your shopping cart real?
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- Horoscopes Today, December 12, 2023
Ranking
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- Funeral and procession honors North Dakota sheriff’s deputy killed in crash involving senator’s son
- London Christmas carol event goes viral on TikTok, gets canceled after 7,000 people show up
- Are post offices, banks, shipping services open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2023?
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- Fed expected to stand pat on interest rates but forecast just two cuts in 2024: Economists
- Analysis: It’s uncertain if push to ‘Stop Cop City’ got enough valid signers for Atlanta referendum
- UN General Assembly votes overwhelmingly to demand a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza
Recommendation
Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Officially Becomes Highest-Grossing Tour Ever
Virginia sheriff’s office says Tesla was running on Autopilot moments before tractor-trailer crash
Two beloved Christmas classics just joined the National Film Registry
What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
Oprah Winfrey talks passing baton in The Color Purple adaptation: You have taken it and made it yours
Colorado cattle industry sues over wolf reintroduction on the cusp of the animals’ release
N.Y. has amassed 1.3 million pieces of evidence in George Santos case, his attorney says