LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — FOX5 exclusively obtained 911 call audio and trooper body and dash camera video that captured the moments after a driver’s brakes failed on the 215 Beltway on July 6, leading Nevada State troopers to attempt a risky maneuver in moving traffic.
The 911 call
The driver called 911 while traveling on the southwest, then northwest, side of the 215 Beltway.
“I just passed Rainbow. I’m about to pass Durango, and my car keeps accelerating. It slows down for a bit and it accelerates. But my brakes are shot. My brakes won’t brake at all,” the driver said.
The 911 dispatcher asked the driver to confirm the problem.
“So, I’m just confirming, you said you’re having trouble with your brakes, like it’s not letting you brake?” the dispatcher said.
“Yeah, it’s not braking at all. It was giving me problems this morning, but now it’s fully not braking at all,” the driver said.
“I’m just concerned because if traffic comes to a stop, I can’t stop the car,” the driver said.
“Right now it sped up to 71 miles an hour. It speeds up, then it slows back down,” the driver said.
Brakes, shifter and shutoff button fail
The dispatcher asked the driver what happens when he presses the brake pedal.
“This is like the second time it had brake problems, but nothing like this before. It doesn’t respond. It just goes down, but the car doesn’t slow down at all,” the driver said.
“When I try to turn off the car on the engine, it gives me an error message. It says pressing the start button won’t work when you’re driving. It won’t shut the engine off,” the driver said.
The dispatcher asked the driver to shift into neutral and move to the right shoulder.
“It goes from reverse to drive. It’s not letting me go to neutral,” the driver said.
Speed increases near Far Hills
“I gotta do something because I’m passing Far Hills, then after Far Hills it’s just a downhill,” the driver said.
The driver told the calltaker his speed.
“Seventy-nine, eighty,” the driver said.
“Going 80 miles an hour?” the calltaker said.
“Ninety-three,” the driver said.
The dispatcher asked the driver to try the emergency brake again.
“Can you try your emergency brake one more time?” the dispatcher said.
“I’m trying, it’s not working,” the driver said.
Troopers respond
Nevada State Police radio traffic showed troopers coordinating a response as they approached the vehicle near Far Hills.
“Metro, we’re going to be Beltway just passing Far Hills right now in the number two lane. Looks like a vehicle with some kind of malfunctions, unable to slow down,” a trooper said over radio.
“We’re going to try to get in front of it, but right now we need some additional units to be able to do a traffic break so I can safely get in front of this vehicle,” a trooper said.
“Can we get a unit ahead of this vehicle to possibly use stop sticks? It’s not slowing down. I mean, it seems like it’s just keeping constant speed,” a trooper said.
Troopers discussed using a patrol vehicle to slow the car.
“Do you still want us to do the plan where a vehicle gets in front of it to try to slow it down that way? If you think you can do it safely, go ahead. We need to get it stopped before it hits somebody else,” a trooper said over radio.
Troopers stop the vehicle
A trooper pulled in front of the vehicle and made contact with it to slow it down.
“Yeah, we made contact. We’re slowing down right now, 21 miles an hour,” a trooper said over radio.
“T95, we are stopped. Vehicle should be pinned,” a trooper said.
“Just wanted to make sure everyone’s good. A little bit of a whiplash,” a trooper said.
Driver describes the malfunction
The driver spoke with a trooper at the scene, recorded on body camera video.
“I got on Decatur and there was traffic, and then the brake was working and it wasn’t working. And I was just talking to my wife on the phone. I said, ‘What do you want me to pick up for dinner?’ And she goes, ‘How’s the car doing?’ I go, because we have to take it in for a checkup. This is the third time we’ve taken it in, by the way. And then… after Decatur, when I hit Jones, the brakes were gone. I couldn’t brake anymore. And that’s when I called 911. I said, ‘Listen, my brakes are gone,’” the driver said.
“And the accelerator wouldn’t go lower. It would go to like 60 miles an hour, then it would speed up to 65, go back down to 60. And I wasn’t on cruise control or anything, you know?” the driver said.
“Yeah, I’m just shaken up. Other than that, I’m fine. Thank you, guys. I appreciate it,” the driver said.
A trooper told the driver he handled the situation well.
“You did good though, man. I was behind you, I was like, ‘He’s driving good. He’s looking at the traffic ahead of him,’” the trooper said.
Troopers discuss the stop
Troopers discussed the maneuver afterward, recorded on body camera video.
“So, what did you do? Just get in front of it and put your brakes on?” a trooper asked.
“Gradually slow, so that we would, like, kind of contact, kind of like a reverse push, and then, like, slow it down that way,” a trooper said.
“I think that’s like worthy of a life-saving award,” a trooper said.
“I don’t know about all that, but I’ll let you watch the video,” a trooper said.
“Who’s done that? Who’s done this before? Slow down a runaway car with their own car? I don’t know,” a trooper said.
“Yeah, no one,” a trooper said.
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