The 18-year-old driver said the SUV continued to accelerate even after slamming on the brakes.
- A 2022 Honda Pilot allegedly accelerated to 120 mph without the driver pressing the accelerator.
- After the teen struggled to control the out-of-control Honda, his mother called 911.
- Police helped stop the speeding SUV by controlling the collision, averting a disaster.
An 18-year-old driver had a horrific experience behind the wheel of a Honda Pilot after the SUV allegedly accelerated to 120 mph (193 km/h) without him pressing the gas pedal. The teenager’s mother called police, who coordinated a controlled crash on the highway and averted disaster.
The incident occurred in Becker County, Minnesota on the evening of September 17. Sam Dutcher, who had just graduated from high school a few months earlier, was driving home to West Fargo, North Dakota, when the family car started having trouble.
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According to the young driver, the 2022 Honda Pilot continued to accelerate even when he took his foot off the gas pedal. The teen claimed he pressed the brake pedal to the floor and tried to shift the vehicle into neutral, but neither action slowed the speeding SUV. With no other way to stop, Dutcher had no choice but to continue driving on the interstate, trying to avoid traffic.
Since he could not call 911, he asked his mother to call the police for help. Officer Zach Gruver quickly located the teen driver and caught up with him in his Dodge police cruiser. After passing the speeding SUV, the officer braked, causing the Honda’s collision avoidance system to activate and slow the vehicle. The impact reportedly occurred at about 50 mph (80 km/h).
The controlled crash was captured on police dash cam, saving Dutcher and other road users from a worse outcome. The vehicle eventually came to a complete stop just 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) from the intersection. Fortunately, there was no traffic in rural western Minnesota at the time, reducing the risk of a potentially fatal accident.
Officer Gruver explained his use of the squad car as a barrier in an interview with The Associated Press: “All I could think of was stopping him in time. We kind of ran out of time and distance. I didn’t really know how else to do it. ”
Another officer spoke with Dutcher on the phone and reviewed all possible options before the officer intervened. When the car came to a stop, the teenager had traveled 30 miles (48 kilometers) since the problem was discovered.
Sam’s mother, Catherine Dutcher, mentioned that the pilot had previously gone into the shop with a stuck throttle. When asked about it by The Associated Press, a Honda spokesman declined to speculate on what might have gone wrong, prompting the family to take the SUV to the dealer for inspection.
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