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Video: Mich. Man's Feet Fail To Stop Brakeless Car (VIDEO)

08/18/11 10:33 PM ET   AP

ROSEVILLE, Mich. -- A police video camera captured images of a 24-year-old Detroit-area man who tried using his feet to stop a runaway pickup truck with faulty brakes and caused multiple collisions, exhibiting "moronic decision making," a Roseville police official said Thursday.

After the vehicle's brakes failed on a busy street in Roseville, about two miles north of Detroit, the man continued driving and stuck his feet outside the car to stop it, Roseville Deputy Police Chief James Berlin said.

Witnesses said the man reached speeds of about 40 mph and was able to stop the car on at least two occasions. The car eventually struck four vehicles.

"This guy's no rocket scientist," Berlin said. "Citizens were calling in saying this guy is all over the road, using his feet."

He struck two vehicles after being unable to stop at a red light, and continued on. An officer who pulled next to the man's car told him to shift into "park," but that didn't work and he rolled into two other vehicles before the car stopped.

"He said he was going to fix the brakes when he got home," Berlin said.

He was arrested for driving on a suspended license and reckless driving. The man is scheduled ""to explain his moronic decision making" during a court hearing next month, Berlin said.

 
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11:31 PM on 08/19/2011
It's like the car is the government running away with spending and the white house is the driver trying to stop it with their feet. In the end, it's just gonna keep going til it crashes.
09:43 PM on 08/19/2011
Sounds like a viable Teabag candidate to me!!
JimOKC
Logic, not ideology...
04:29 AM on 08/20/2011
You just like being tea-bagged. Admit it, lol.
12:28 AM on 08/21/2011
What?
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henrypapillon
Put a Psychiatrist in every NRA meeting.
09:15 PM on 08/19/2011
Someone asked why he didn't use his emergency brake. That is the same braking system, just a different way to apply it, so if the brakes are gone, they're gone.
JimOKC
Logic, not ideology...
04:30 AM on 08/20/2011
Actually, that is not always true. On my car, there are actually emergency brake pads that are ONLY utilized when the emergency brake is applied.
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henrypapillon
Put a Psychiatrist in every NRA meeting.
01:53 PM on 08/20/2011
That may be on your car, but it is NOT on that truck. Also, if it is an independent system  that is seldom used in a corrosive climate(up north with winter salt or near the ocean), it may not function when it is used.
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themidnightreview
Moderate blogger - TheMidnightReview.com
08:47 PM on 08/19/2011
Why didn't he use his emergency brake?
04:30 PM on 08/20/2011
Chances are the same person maintains both brake systems. Probably didn't work either
07:57 PM on 08/19/2011
Stupid cop you cannot put it in park when it is moving. WHY did he not get in front and use his car to stop the truck.
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maxout22
07:38 PM on 08/19/2011
He's gonna need some new brake shoes.
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rewith85man
Expressing Who I Am
07:16 PM on 08/19/2011
Yabba Dabba fool!
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HonestJohnnis
07:09 PM on 08/19/2011
... Why didn't the cop roll up to the intersection with his lights and sirens on to stop the cross traffic? Sure the guy needs some driving help but the cop should have a basic understanding of what to do in those types of traffic incidents.
ReckingBall
Don't hate me cause I'm beautiful.
06:01 PM on 08/19/2011
Not the best of drivers
06:00 PM on 08/19/2011
Did no one ever think to shut the car off? Turn the key off, engine dies, turn the key back on to free the steering wheel.
That or just aim the car over by the curb and turn the key off and coast to a safe stop.
Geez
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Smirnonn
Ale's What Cures Ya.
05:51 PM on 08/19/2011
Seems like this guy had got a pretty good chance of winning a Darwin award.
05:37 PM on 08/19/2011
Dang strict guv'mint. Always makin' a man have workin' brakes and all. Too much regulation. Set the market free.
06:31 PM on 08/19/2011
Dude... I SERIOUSLY doubt that there will ever be a market for brakeless cars. The free market can take care of that one at least. lol!
JimOKC
Logic, not ideology...
04:32 AM on 08/20/2011
Yeah, lots of regulations ignored by judges anyway. I find it humorous how the left just loves passing laws and regulations, then their bleeding-heart judges give the perp a free pass. What's the point?
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rysagr
whip me beat me just don't bore me to death
05:33 PM on 08/19/2011
should have used his head
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PDXTransplant
˙˙˙pןɹoʍ uʍop ǝpısdn uɐ uı ƃuıʌıן
05:23 PM on 08/19/2011
Why did he not use his e-brake?! That's why it's called an emergency brake. It's just not there to help your car not roll forward or back.
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MISTERUNCONVENTIONAL
The only attitude I've ever had is a bad one.
05:38 PM on 08/19/2011
Once the brakes are worn past a certain point the e-brake isn't going to work either. It's not a complete, separate set of brakes. It's just a purely mechanical way to engage the regular ones, should the hydraulic system fail. And often the e-brake isn't adjusted, the cable stretched so far it wouldn't work even if the brake shoes were ok on a beater car like this. I'm sure you've driven at least one car where the e-brake didn't work although the regular ones did.
09:40 PM on 08/19/2011
Sorry, but in most vehicles the e brake is a seperate system completely. A cable controled system to rear only brake shoes as opposed to the main system which are disk brakes. The shoes are contained in the "drum" section of the rear brake rotors. In cases where the vehicle has rear drum brakes and fron disk brakes (common in most trucks), daily braking is forced to the front disk brakes via a proportion control valve in the hydraulic system....the rear only engages via hydraulics in case of hard braking. Therefore, the most logical reason his e-brake did not work (if that was the case at all) was the cable itself was inop.
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malander
05:15 PM on 08/19/2011
Oh come on! we deserved to see what that idiot looked like!
JimOKC
Logic, not ideology...
04:34 AM on 08/20/2011
That's exactly what I thought when I watched it.