Current:Home > Finance'I am going to die': Video shows North Dakota teen crashing runaway car at 113 mph -Visionary Wealth Guides
'I am going to die': Video shows North Dakota teen crashing runaway car at 113 mph
View
Date:2025-04-14 22:56:49
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! (342)
Related
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- Migrant mothers arriving in New York find support, hope — and lots of challenges
- Russia will only resume nuclear tests if the US does it first, a top Russian diplomat says
- Oklahoma judge dismisses case of man who spent 30 years in prison for Ada rape
- Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
- Brooke Burke says she 'will always have a crush' on former 'DWTS' dance partner Derek Hough
- Food Network Star Michael Chiarello's Company Addresses His Fatal Allergic Reaction
- Star witness Caroline Ellison starts testimony at FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- Horrors emerge from Hamas infiltration of Israel on Gaza border
Ranking
- San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
- NHL season openers: Times, TV, streaming, matchups as Connor Bedard makes debut
- Employees are sick with guilt about calling in sick
- California becomes the first state to ban 4 food additives linked to disease
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Jury deliberates in first trial in Elijah McClain's death
- 'Feels like the world is ending': Impacts of strikes in Gaza already devastating
- Nashville officer fatally shoots man with knife holding hostage, police say
Recommendation
Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
Hughes Van Ellis, youngest known survivor of Tulsa Race Massacre, dies at 102
From Candy Corn to Kit Kats: The most popular (and hated) Halloween candy by state
NHL issues updated theme night guidance, which includes a ban on players using Pride tape on the ice
$73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
'They bought some pretty good players': Kentucky's Mark Stoops on NIL after Georgia loss
AP PHOTOS: Soldiers mobilize, mourners bury the dead as battles rage in Israeli-Palestinian war
Caitlin Clark has become the first college athlete to secure an NIL deal with State Farm