Concerned Father stops police chase by using his truck as a ram

a reply to: burdman30ott6

But it didn't... that is why I thought that he had stopped or wasn't carrying much forward momentum.
I agree 100% that the truck would have no prob going over the car if he was on the gas pedal, but it seems others say that he was still on it so I guess the kid and the guy in the truck got lucky it didn't happen.

originally posted by: burdman30ott6

originally posted by: Sremmos80
a reply to: RickyD



IMO he was stopped or had far less forward momentum then the car. The truck got sent up in the air a tad, doesn't that show that the car hit him harder then he hit the car?

No. 4x4 with a lift kit and off road (315?) tires is gonna go up and over pretty much any small car. I've done it from the side on the front fender of a Focus driving an old stock Scottsdale 4x4 with AT tires going about 20 MPH... right up and over the front end of the Foucs. (The Focus made an illegal lane change trying to grab the turn lane I was in.) truck vs car almost always will end up with the truck coming out on top.

But, the things is, the truck driver applied full lock, easing the momentum even more. He should be applauded, and he knew what he was doing.

originally posted by: Sremmos80
a reply to: burdman30ott6

But it didn't... that is why I thought that he had stopped or wasn't carrying much forward momentum.
I agree 100% that the truck would have no prob going over the car if he was on the gas pedal, but it seems others say that he was still on it so I guess the kid and the guy in the truck got lucky it didn't happen.

The throttle would surge when the engine is running, the truck driver may have been jolted a little forward onto the pedal, plus a slight lessening of force on the road wheels, and you get that throttle surge, and often then a stall when the full weight of the vehicle is on the road again. The full lock to the left is the clincher though, that was smart.

It definitely worked. Joyrider couldn't dodge it and really got rammed.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

originally posted by: iosolomon
Anyone missing the real story behind this thread? What type of parents / grandparents did this society produce that would produce a kid stealing cars and nearly running over others? America is truly a disgusting nation, yet the American will say, "I am proud to be American."

Right...because there aren't idiots who steal cars or do other stupid things in any other nation on earth. America is at fault for every ill of the world and is responsible for every idiotic act all while screaming 'god bwess 'Murica'

a reply to: Domo1

Well the guy driving the truck is a cop, off duty at the time.

Actually no... If you find the Facebook thread on the topic, he actually comes out and posts on it. There is about 800 replies to him, but he states that it was a mix up, the media stating he is a cop. He said he was just a concerned father with kids playing in the park.

Here is the video of the kid plowing through the park, which didn't come out in the OP for some reason.

originally posted by: boncho
Here is the video of the kid plowing through the park, which didn't come out in the OP for some reason.

good thing the father stopped that car when he did.......watching it fly through the park was scary...lucky no kids were hurt

a reply to: Domo1

Not sure in a situation like this if a civilian or off duty cop would be charged with reckless driving. Weird circumstance. I'd rather take the hit to the license and SR-22 than have a kid get run over personally.

I don't think reckless driving would stick given the states definition of the law:

§ 1212. Reckless driving. Reckless driving shall mean driving or using any motor vehicle, motorcycle or any other vehicle propelled by any power other than muscular power or any appliance or accessory thereof in a manner which unreasonably interferes with the free and proper use of the public highway, or unreasonably endangers users of the public highway. Reckless driving is prohibited. Every person violating this provision shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. [11]

*

What the car was doing wouldn't be deemed "proper use" of the road. Okay, maybe I'm reaching...

But, take into account citizen's arrest laws. In some cases hitting someone with a car, or coming close to hitting someone with a car can be seen as attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, etc.

The kid nearly hit 3 youngsters playing in the park with a 3000lb missile.

"4. A private person acting on his own account may use physical force, other than deadly physical force, upon another person when and to the extent that he reasonably believes such to be necessary to effect an arrest or to prevent the escape from custody of a person whom he reasonably believes to have committed an offense [in his presence] and who in fact has committed such offense; and [after giving due notice of the grounds for the arrest] he may use deadly physical force for such purpose when he reasonably believes such to be necessary to:

(a) Defend himself or a third person from what he reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of deadly physical force;...

"A Canajoharie, New York, car thief's efforts were put in park after a potential victim pressed a shotgun to the criminal's throat. Daniel J. Stetin foiled the crime after awaking for work and discovering his car already running outside. He grabbed a shotgun and went to investigate, while his wife grabbed the telephone and dialed 911. Confronted by an armed and angry Stetin, the crook rested quietly on the ground and waited for police to arrive. (The Sunday Gazette, Schenectady, NY, 5/21/95)"

*************EDIT

I just realized that this happened in Syracuse Utah, not Syracuse New York. Oops. Well, I will leave this post up anyway for the point it was trying to make, although I referenced a different state supporting the point.

Good job to the guy in the truck. Too many people sit around and watch things like that happen... I don't know if I would have had the restraint to stop on impact. Anyone saying he did wrong by ramming the car to protect others can go pat yourself on the back for being part of the problem in this world. I say that kid is lucky he didn't get 300 bullet holes in the car by the cops, or jerked out and beat within an inch of his life by every parent in the neighborhood. Being a minor isn't an excuse for being stupid and purposely endangering the lives of others.

Having read the article and reviewed the videos, along with the postings the following can be stated:

This case has several issues at hand that should be looked at and the facts that are reported:

A 14 yo boy, takes a vehicle, his grandparents and goes for a joy ride.
In the course of said ride, an officer tried to pull him over for a traffic violation. Said boy then took off, leading the police on a chase. Said boy drove through a park, where there were children playing, and nearly hit several of the young children. He started to drive more erratically down the street. A person in the park, whose children were playing in the park, saw what all was going on. The police were considering backing off to get the boy to slow down and prevent a tragedy from happing at that time frame. Said person got into his truck and used it to stop the boy from going back into the park, thus preventing the boy from running and possibly killing children or other persons.

Having looked at the facts, there are going to be accusations and claims. The first is that the boys parents, and family are going to probably say he is a good boy, he just made a mistake, hung out with the wrong crowd. There will be cries about how the man should have known better and not done such as the child could have been killed.

Yet watching this video, the question must be asked, what would have the outcry had been if the boy, while driving through the park, what would the out cry had been if this child hit any number of children that day or killed a few. Would others be so forgiving if it was their child got hit by this kid, or killed?

I would have done the same thing with my truck.
Cheers to this guy..
cops are lame for not being able to handle this situation in a schoolzone
and what.. back off and let the kid think he got away with it and do it again?
again.. cheers to the guy in the truck for doing what the cops should have done.

they are more than willing to bust you for speeding
but use their car to stop something like this would require supervisory approval.

Don't Dodge it... Ram It.

Dudes a hero.

It's "not my problem".

Swift thinking on the part of the dad; he did what was needed to prevent someone from being killed.

To those that claim he was in the wrong somehow, does it occur to you that he didn't roll over the top of the car, and actually prevented injury? He didn't cause any. I can't believe anyone goes after his actions, and not those of this punk teenager that nearly ran down a couple of kids in a stolen car. Or, hey, the cops that participated in a high speed chase through a park full of kids. No; attack the guy that saved the day, instead.

No wonder the country is in decline.....

Oh boy, more worry and excuses for a criminal. He is lucky he got stopped before doing something deadly.

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

So your logic is just because it didn't happen there wasn't a pretty decent chance it could have. So everythings all good and we should try to head on people in this type of vehicular abuse situation? There is only one reason I backed off from attacking his actions and thats because the dad was apparently an off duty cop and was trained in that type of driving/situation. For a regular Joe to do this I belive it would be not only wrong but very dangerous for the driver and anyone around.

a reply to: RickyD

What "didn't happen"? An out of control driver could easily have injured others, and there were children playing in the area. This guy stopped that possibility, and he didn't hurt anyone. He had a vehicle that would work, and he decided to do what he could to try and stop something bad from happening. His being a cop is a factor, but even if he wasn't, choosing to help is much better than standing idly by recording bad things like most people these days seem to do. He only risked his own life, and that's his option.