A Minnesota teenager cheated death after an in-drive computer took control of his Honda and raced him for over 30 miles at 113mph – and only stopped when heroic cops let him crash into them.
Stunning footage captured the terrifying episode unfolding on September 17 when Sam Dutcher, 18, was driving late at night through the streets of West Fargo, Minnesota.
Dutcher told WDAY-TV he realized he was in danger when he was speeding through an intersection, and thought: ‘Hey, this thing is accelerating, and my foot is not on the gas.’
As the situation escalated, Dutcher called 911, who scrambled several Minnesota State Patrol cars to chase him down and speak to the teen on the phone as he was behind the wheel.
Incredible police dashcam footage captured the moment a Minnesota teenager’s Honda Pilot sped out of control after its in-drive computer system took control and hit the gas
Sam Dutcher, 18, said he was sure he was ‘going to die’ after his SUV accelerated out of control for over 30 miles last month
Clay County Deputy Zach Johnson was one of the cops who pursued Dutcher after his car took control and accelerated him through an array of highways, streets and intersections.
In footage shared by the sheriff’s department, Johnson can be heard asking Dutcher: ‘If you hit the brakes, nothing happens?’
As Dutcher struggled to explain what was happening while panic set in, Johnson continued: ‘Is the accelerator stuck down?… Are you able to push the e-brake and just lock em up?’
Dutcher said nothing was working, including attempts to turn the car off or put it in neutral – all while he had to keep his focus on the road.
Cops pursuing Dutcher were able to speak to him on the phone, and were seen on bodycam footage trying to figure out how the Honda lost control
Clay County Deputy Zach Johnson chased Dutcher for miles at high speed, and floated ideas including using strip spikes and letting the Honda run out of gas as officers realized they needed to take drastic action
Minnesota State Trooper Zach Gruver allowed Dutcher to crash into him after officers determinined it was too dangerous to allow him to continue
Although Dutcher would have eventually run out of gas by driving at such high speed, deputies determined that it was too dangerous to let the vehicle continue for much longer.
Johnson also floated the idea of using spike strips to puncture Dutcher’s tires, but the Honda’s in-drive computer had continued hitting the accelerator and he was going too fast for strips to be safe.
Authorities said the situation grew more urgent as Dutcher’s runaway vehicle approached the small town of Hitterdal, which would have forced him to speed through more precarious streets than the highway.
Minnesota State Trooper Zach Gruver, another of those who pursued the Honda, said his priority was clearing the way so Dutcher did not encounter other traffic.
‘That intersection on Highway 32 is uncontrolled north and south so, at that point, my plan was to get up there and get the intersection blocked so we didn’t have cars coming through when Sam was coming through at 113mph,’ Gruver told WDAY-TV.
Dutcher’s mom Catherine recalled how she was praying for her son to survive the terrifying ordeal
Minnesota State Trooper Zach Gruver was the officer who eventually let Dutcher crash into him
Officers pursuing Dutcher’s vehicle said the chase grew more dangerous as he approached the small town of Hitterdal (pictured), where he navigated more perilous roads than the
An aerial view of the Hitterdal intersection where Dutcher raced through at 113mph
In heart-stopping footage from one of the deputies’ cruisers, Dutcher’s vehicle could be seen racing through the intersection at breakneck speed, although thankfully no other cars came from the other directions.
Dutcher said it was around that time that he started to believe he would not survive the terrifying episode.
‘My mind started to go, ‘I am going to die tonight,” he recalled.
The 18-year-old was also able to call his mom Catherine, who listened in on the chase while trying to calm her son down and speak with 911.
She said that although she was attempting to assure her panicked son, Catherine admitted that she was thinking: ‘My kid is probably dead.’
‘I was like, ‘God, please don’t kill my kid, please don’t,’ she said.
Gruver and Johnson said it dawned on them that they would be forced to take drastic action around 30 miles into Dutcher’s chase, because they were approaching a T in the road just three miles away.
‘At that point, we knew we had to get this car stopped,’ Gruver said.
Dutcher, pictured with his mother Catherine, said during the chase he thought to himself: ‘I am going to die tonight’
Dutcher’s mother Catherine said she was praying during the chase: ‘God, please don’t kill my kid, please don’t’
Stunning footage showed Dutcher slam his SUV into the back of Gruver’s vehicle, which brought the death-defying episode to a quick halt
Gruver volunteered to allow Dutcher to hit him as he had the fastest car in a move which stunned the teen
As the dead-end approached, Gruver hit the gas and sped in front of Dutcher’s vehicle, and said he reached speeds of 130mph to do so.
‘The (police) car tops out at 140,’ he added. Gruver later said he took the hit because he ‘clearly’ had the fastest car, a Dodge Charger.
While on the phone with Dutcher, Johnson ordered the teenager to crash his car into Gruver, with the teen appearing to be stunned at the unorthodox solution.
‘Yes, run into the back of his car,’ Johnson repeated on the footage.
Dashcam video captured the moment Dutcher slammed into Gruver’s car, which worked surprisingly effectively and brought the pursuit to a quick stop, saving the teenager’s life.
‘It hit me then that this really just happened. At that point, I just started to freak out,’ Dutcher recalled.
Gruver added: ‘When you are in the moment, the adrenaline is just pumping.’
Following the unbelievable episode, Dutcher and his mom visited Gruver to share their thanks for heroically putting himself in harm’s way
The two embraced in an emotional meeting after the ordeal
It is unclear what exactly caused the Honda to malfunction
It is unclear what exactly caused the Honda to malfunction. Honda Pilots are not fitted with a traditional autopilot like some vehicles, but are equipped with an ‘adaptive cruise control’ system that can alter the speed of a vehicle to maintain a safe distance from cars ahead.
Honda did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com as to what technical malfunction caused Dutcher’s vehicle to accelerate uncontrollably.
Following the unbelievable episode, Dutcher and his mom visited Gruver to share their thanks for heroically putting himself in harm’s way.
Gruver downplayed his efforts as a ‘right place, right time kind of thing’, and revealed that he is expecting his first child.
‘I don’t think I did anything special. I think it came down to that I had the fastest car and I was able to get in front of him,’ the trooper said.
‘There were a lot of factors in there where things could have gone very wrong very fast.’