Photo: Peter Dazeley / The Image Bank / Getty Images
A teenage driver found himself in a dangerous situation when his vehicle stopped responding to his controls. Sam Dutcher, 18, was driving in West Fargo, Minnesota, when his Honda SUV went into autopilot mode. He knew something was wrong when the SUV accelerated through an intersection on its own.
"I thought, 'Hey, this thing is accelerating, and my foot is not on the gas,'" Dutcher told WDAY.
Dutcher watched as his car accelerated to 113 mph, and he was unable to slow down. He called 911 as he maneuvered his car along city streets and the highway.
Several state patrol cars were dispatched, and Clay County Deputy Zach Johnson called Dutcher and tried to talk him through the situation.
"If you hit the brakes, nothing happens?" Johnson asked. "Is the accelerator stuck down?"
"Are you able to push the e-brake and just lock 'em up?"
Dutcher told Johnson that didn't work and noted that he even tried turning off the car. As Johnson sped through intersections while police blocked off the roads, he started having dark thoughts.
"My mind started to go, 'I am going to die tonight,'" Dutcher said.
Officers knew time was running out because the road Dutcher was on was about to end in a T-intersection. With no other options and time running out, Minnesota State Trooper Zach Gruver sped ahead of Dutcher while another deputy told the teen to crash into Gruver's vehicle.
The plan worked, and Dutcher's car finally came to a stop after a harrowing 30 miles. Miraculously, neither Dutcher nor Gruver were injured in the crash.
Honda issued a statement saying it wants to reach out the Dutcher and his family to discuss the incident.
"Thank you for reaching out to Honda. First and foremost, we are grateful that the customer is safe, and we appreciate the role of law enforcement in helping the customer stop the vehicle. We cannot speculate about the issue the customer experienced without a detailed inspection, and we encourage the family to have the vehicle towed to an authorized Honda dealer for inspection if that has not already occurred," Honda said in a statement.