911 log released on runaway Honda Pilot after trooper stops it with squad car
Runaway vehicle stopped using squad car: Dashcam video
An 18-year-old driving a Honda Pilot in Fargo, North Dakota, wasn't able to stop after the vehicle malfunctioned. The vehicle continued to accelerate, reaching speeds of more than 100 mph before a Minnesota State Trooper was able to catch up to the runaway vehicle. The trooper had to drive in front of the runaway vehicle, and advised the driver to hit the squad car. The trooper then braked and brought the vehicle to a stop. No injuries were reported. Here's the dashcam and body camera video from the Sept. 17, 2024, incident.
HITTERDAL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Details of an incident that saw a Minnesota State Patrol trooper use his cruiser to physically stop a malfunctioning runaway Honda Pilot have been released by the Clay County Sheriff's Office.
READ MORE: MN troopers, deputies team up to stop out-of-control Honda after malfunction: Video
What we know
Law enforcement personnel said they got the call from 18-year-old Sam Dutcher from North Dakota on the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 17. He reported driving his Honda Pilot in northern Fargo when his vehicle malfunctioned.
Minnesota State Patrol said Dutcher reported not being able to stop and that his vehicle kept accelerating.
A 911 incident report from the Clay County Sheriff's Office includes a "CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) Narrative" transcript that shows Deputy Zach Johnson "Maintained phone contact with the male driver and attempted to have him disable the vehicle to slow it down. This was unsuccessful due to the vehicle not allowing him to shift to neutral, apply the brakes, or shut it off. Vehicle was stopped after an intentional 10-50 with MNSP (Minnesota State Patrol), assisted at the scene where it was stopped."
The transcript also includes an account of events by the Cass County, North Dakota, deputy who first responded to the runaway Honda on Highway 22 in Harwood, North Dakota. That deputy followed the Honda into Minnesota, eventually being joined by deputies from the Clay County Sheriff's Office and troopers from the Minnesota State Patrol.
The Cass County deputy said in the report "The suspect vehicle maintained speeds of 90-113 mph while passing vehicles on the right side of the road, going through traffic-controlled intersections, and through the 30-mph zone in Hitterdal."
The incident report notes that Minnesota State Patrol troopers tried to get in front of the Honda to deploy road spikes, but this failed "due to high rates of speeds and the roadway ending in a T-intersection."
It also documented the moment troopers got the vehicle to stop by "having the suspect vehicle crash into the rear end of the patrol vehicle."
According to the report, the "vehicle was previously serviced for a similar issue involving a stuck accelerator" before the incident.
No injuries were reported.
What they're saying
Dutcher's mother, Catherine, told FOX 9 "I had initially thought that my kid was probably going to die."
Minnesota State Trooper Zach Gruver, who was the trooper who stopped the runaway vehicle, was able to catch up with Dutcher after troubleshooting efforts failed.
"Once I actually caught up to him, I saw that he was doing 113 mph," said Minnesota State Trooper Zach Gruver. "It was pretty much pinned at 113."
Gruver then made the decision to risk his own safety to stop the vehicle before it hit a fork in the road just two miles away.
"I wasn’t going to let him go off the T at 113 miles per hour," Gruver said. "I truly believe Sam would’ve died."
Trooper Gruver pulled in front of the runaway vehicle and, with Deputy Johnson, the trooper told the teen driver to hit his squad vehicle.
"I’m very thankful," Sam told FOX 9 this week.
In a statement, Minnesota State Patrol spokesperson Sgt. Jesse Grabow lauded the heroic actions of everyone involved in the incident:
"It was incredible work from the 911 dispatchers, Cass County SO, Clay County SO, and State Trooper Zach Gruver and the fact that the 18-year-old driver … kept as calm as he could, communicated and followed some unbelievable directions that this incident ended as well as it did. For everything that was going wrong, a few important things went right. Without the sacrifice of Trooper Gruver, we might not have had the victory and outcome we did."
What caused the malfunction?
The specific cause of the Honda Pilot's malfunction has not been released.
In a statement, Honda told FOX 9:
"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. We also want to talk with the family and want them to know that they can always reach out to Honda Customer Relations at 800-999-1009."