State trooper allows malfunctioning car to hit his squad, saving driver
CLAY COUNTY, Minn. — It's a day that Minnesota State Trooper Zach Gruver won't soon forget.
On Sept. 17, Gruver was on patrol when he heard a call that an 18-year-old driver had lost control of his Honda Pilot. The car malfunctioned, continuing to accelerate despite attempts to turn it off, brake, put it in neutral, or use an emergency brake.
Behind the wheel, the driver reached speeds over 100 mph as he called 911.
"Your training kicks in, and you kind of go to 'Ok, what can we do to get this vehicle stopped?'" Gruver said. "I hit my radar and he was doing 113… I had the pedal pinned to the floor – I was doing anywhere from 120 to 130."
Gruver was able to overtake the car before the two reached an intersection near Hitterdal. Dash cam shows Gruver arrive at the intersection to attempt to warn cross traffic before the car zoomed past once more.
Gruver knew he was running out of option. Up ahead several miles, there was a dead end.
"It goes from your safety, to, am I going to watch this 18-year-old kid go into a farm field at 113 mph?" Gruver said. "I didn't think about my own safety or how bad it could have ended, but I was pretty certain if we didn't get him stopped, it would have either been great bodily harm, or death."
Gruver overtook the car once more – and this time, hit his own brakes. The Honda Pilot's crash detection technology kicked in – slowing the car to nearly 50 mph, before it hit Gruver, who was going slightly slower. Gruver's plan was a success – he stopped the speeding car. Since then, word has spread, and fast.
"Plenty of phone calls, texts, Facebook messages, people reaching out," he said. "There's been the word 'hero' thrown out. I don't think – I'm just a normal guy, I did what any of my partners would in that situation. Car just happened to be faster than theirs, I was able to get up in front of him and slow him down."