A man thought he could flee with a stolen car, but a GM worker flipped a switch to kill the engine
Who needs a fancy security system when you can just contact General Motors?
A would-be car thief might be asking himself that today, after he tried to outrun a pursuing patrol car only to have GM remotely bring the stolen car to a gradual stop, enabling a deputy to walk up and make the arrest. The company even turned on the vehicle's flashers to reduce the chance it might get hit by another car.
In a news release, Fond du Lac County sheriff's officials said they were notified Saturday night that GM was tracking a stolen car on Interstate 41 in the town of Eldorado, north of Fond du Lac. A sheriff's deputy located the car and began following it. The driver hit the gas and tried to outrun the deputy.
The rest is history. A sheriff's dispatcher notified GM. They remotely pulled the plug.
The stolen car, flashers on, rolled to a stop near I-41 and Military Road. Deputies arrested the driver, a 39-year-old Seymour man, without incident.
Deputies expect the driver to face charges of fleeing or eluding an officer and operating a vehicle without the owner's consent.
Contact Doug Schneider at (920) 431-8333, or DSchneid@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @PGDougSchneider.
This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: GM stops car thief in Fond du Lac County with the flip of a switch
