Help me Honda!
Sam Dutcher had just finished running errands when the 18-year-old’s Honda Pilot suddenly began to accelerate, even though his foot wasn’t on the gas pedal. The brake wouldn’t work, he couldn’t shift into neutral, and before long, the runaway SUV was speeding into the western Minnesota countryside with no way to stop. “I had the brake to the floor,” Sam Dutcher said Thursday, but the SUV kept going faster and faster, eventually reaching 120 mph. Sam graduated high school in May and is studying auto mechanics, was driving to the family home near West Fargo, North Dakota, around 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 17 when he realized something was wrong. “I went to take my foot off the accelerator,” Sam recalled. “It wouldn’t slow down.” As the SUV gained speed, Sam had two options: Stay on a two-lane road and drive into Minnesota, or hop onto the interstate. Figuring traffic would be lighter, he chose the road less traveled. Sam tried using voice command on his phone to call 911, but it didn’t work. So he called his mom.
Mom – Catherine Dutcher – was in the drive-thru line at Hardee’s. She called 911 and explained that the Honda had just been in the shop because the accelerator was apparently getting stuck. As the Honda sped into Minnesota, Clay County Deputy Zach Johnson reached Sam by phone. All Catherine Dutcher could do was worry. When she called 911 for an update, she broke. “They said they’ve got several officers going to him as well as medical,” she recalled. “At that point I kind of lost it because I just imagined him being either seriously injured or dead. I didn’t know how they were going to stop a runaway car that was going that speed.”
In the video below- Officer Gruver raced ahead of the runaway Honda to keep traffic at bay. His dashcam video showed the Honda zipping quickly past him through town. Sam said the SUV was going about 120 mph. Law enforcement came up with a plan on the fly: Sam should drive into the back of Gruver’s squad car as both vehicles were moving. “Yes, run into the back of his car,” Johnson urged Sam in a conversation captured on dashcam video. The 2022 Honda’s crash mitigation system kicked in at the point of impact, helping ease the collision, Gruver said. The Honda was going about 50 mph when it struck the trooper’s vehicle. From there, Gruver was able to gradually slow to a stop. Officer Gruver, a married 30-year-old expecting his first baby, was impressed by the young driver who was able to navigate a runaway vehicle at unimaginable speeds. “Sam did great,” said Gruver, who has been a trooper for over three years. “I don’t think there’s a whole lot of people that could deal with that pressure.”
Speeder speeches
I just got a photo from a speeding camera through the mail.
I sent it right back, way too expensive and really bad quality.
I definitely learned my lesson about speeding today and it will never happen again.
I didn’t get pulled over or anything, I just showed up to work 20 minutes early.
I got pulled over for speeding in my Prius.
The cop didn’t give me a ticket. He just wanted to know how I did it.
A cop stopped a guy for speeding…
He said, “Do you know how fast you were going?”
“I was trying to keep up with traffic,” he replied.
He said, “There is no traffic.”
And the guy answered, “See, That’s how far behind I am.”
October 9th Birthdays
1970 – Anika Sorenstam, 1994 – Jodelle Ferland, 1952 – Sharon Osbourne, 1987 – Melissa Villaseñor
1953 – Tony Shaloub, 1940 – John Lennon, 1958 – Mike Singletary, 1973 – Simon Sinek