Current:Home > Invest'I am going to die': Video shows North Dakota teen crashing runaway car at 113 mph -AssetTrainer
'I am going to die': Video shows North Dakota teen crashing runaway car at 113 mph
View
Date:2025-04-18 05:49:34
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! (214)
Related
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Can a president pardon himself?
- Brittany Mahomes Shows How Patrick Mahomes and Sterling Bond While She Feeds Baby Bronze
- Salman Rushdie Makes First Onstage Appearance Since Stabbing Attack
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Commonsense initiative aims to reduce maternal mortality among Black women
- Kourtney Kardashian announces pregnancy with sign at husband Travis Barker's concert
- Inside the Love Lives of the Fast and Furious Stars
- 'Malcolm in the Middle’ to return with new episodes featuring Frankie Muniz
- Infection toll for recalled eyedrops climbs to 81, including 4 deaths, CDC says
Ranking
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- Surviving long COVID three years into the pandemic
- Opioids are devastating Cherokee families. The tribe has a $100 million plan to heal
- Florida bans direct-to-consumer auto sales but leaves carve-out for Tesla
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- Dakota Pipeline Builder Under Fire for Ohio Spill: 8 Violations in 7 Weeks
- Clinics on wheels bring doctors and dentists to health care deserts
- With gun control far from sight, schools redesign for student safety
Recommendation
Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
Teen Mom's Catelynn Lowell Celebrates Carly's 14th Birthday With Sweet Tribute
A months-long landfill fire in Alabama reveals waste regulation gaps
Inside the Love Lives of the Fast and Furious Stars
What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
Teen Mom's Maci Bookout Celebrates Son Bentley's Middle School Graduation
Mass killers practice at home: How domestic violence and mass shootings are linked
With gun control far from sight, schools redesign for student safety