THE terrifying moment a driver’s car went out of control and zoomed at 113 mph without him touching the accelerator has been captured in a shocking dashcam video.
Sam Dutcher said his Honda Pilot went into “autopilot” and wouldn’t slow down for 30 heart-stopping miles despite him slamming on the brakes.
Teen driver Sam Dutcher’s car was captured screaming past a Minnesota state trooper at top speeds after its computer malfunctioned[/caption]
The Honda Pilot hit top speeds of 113 mph and wouldn’t stop despite the driver slamming on his breaks[/caption]
On September 17, Dutcher, a recent high school graduate, started to drive home in Clay County, Minnesota, about three and a half hours northeast of Minneapolis, after running some errands
Suddenly, during the commute, his SUV took off and accelerated to top speeds despite him not touching the gas.
The computer in his car had completely taken over, and it wouldn’t slow down despite Dutcher slamming the brake.
“My mind started to go, ‘I am going to die tonight,” Dutcher told ABC affiliate WDAY in an emotional interview.
The teen approached the interstate as his car sped up but made the split-second decision to avoid traffic by traveling down a two-lane highway.
He tried to use a voice feature on his phone to call 911 while he white-knuckled the steering wheel but couldn’t get it to work.
Instead, Dutcher called his mom, who was sitting in a Hardee’s drive-thru at the time, and she called the police.
Dash cam footage captured Clay County Deputy Zach Johnson talking the fearful teen through solutions, including shifting to neutral and pulling the E-brake, but nothing worked.
Minnesota state troopers then decided to race ahead of Dutcher, set out spikes, and pop his tires, but this didn’t stop the car either.
“Honestly, I was like, ‘My kid is probably dead,’” Dutcher’s mom Catherine told the local outlet.
“I was like, ‘God, please don’t kill my kid, please don’t.’”
More horrifying video shows a trooper pulling over so Dutcher could zoom past through intersections where thankfully, there were no cars around.
Despite the lack of traffic, cops knew they needed to stop him quickly as the highway ends in a T intersection, meaning Dutcher would soon run out of road.
State Trooper Zach Gruver decided to race in front of Dutcher and use his patrol car to stop the teen manually.
He reached 130 mph to zoom in front of the Honda and slowed down so the car could slam into his bumper and finally come to a stop.
My mind started to go, ‘I’m going to die tonight’
Sam Dutcher
Gruver knew Dutcher’s car had a crash mitigation system that helps slow it down when it senses an impact, meaning it had slowed to 50 mph by the time it hit the patrol car.
After 20 minutes of driving horror, the terror finally came to an end.
When approached for comment, a Honda spokesperson said Dutcher would have to take the car to a mechanic to determine what had happened.
The U.S. Sun has contacted the brand for any updates on whether the driver got answers.
Dutcher graduated from high school in May and is studying auto mechanics at Minnesota State University.
Trooper Gruver met up with Dutcher and his mom after the horror incident and humbly praised the teen for keeping his cool throughout the autopilot horror.
“Sam did great,” Gruver said.
“I don’t think there’s a whole lot of people that could deal with that pressure.”
What to do if your car’s accelerator gets stuck
THERE are several steps drivers can take in case their car’s accelerator gets stuck.
- Stay calm and try not to panic
- Shift from drive into neutral
- Push the brake firmly
- Search for a safe way to get off the road
- Turn on hazard lights to warn that something’s wrong
- Turn off the ignition when you no longer have to change directions
- Call for assistance, and do not get back behind the wheel until a professional has looked at the car
