Driver thanks man who hit him on purpose

[Liberal_in_LA]

Driver thanks man who hit him on purpose

A Boeing manager and engineer by training, Duane Innes of Kent is credited with saving the life of a driver who'd lost consciousness
on Highway 167. Innes pulled his minivan in front of the runaway truck before it slammed into other vehicles.

By Sean Collins Walsh

Bill Pace, left, meets Duane Innes for a thank-you dinner at a Bellevue restaurant Monday. On July 23, Pace slumped over the wheel of his truck and Innes engineered a crash to stop the truck.


Bill Pace, left, talks with Duane Innes at Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant. "

Driving to a Mariners game, Duane Innes saw a pickup ahead of him drift across lanes of traffic, sideswipe a concrete barrier and continue forward on the inside shoulder at about 40 mph.

A manager of Boeing's F22 fighter-jet program, Innes dodged the truck, then looked back to see that the driver was slumped over the wheel. He knew a busy intersection was just ahead, and he had to act fast. Without consulting the passengers in his minivan — "there was no time to take a vote" — Innes kicked into engineer mode.

"Basic physics: If I could get in front of him and let him hit me, the delta difference in speed would just be a few miles an hour, and we could slow down together," Innes explained.

So he pulled in front of the pickup, allowed it to rear-end his minivan and brought both vehicles safely to a stop in the pull-off lane.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013215629_hero21m.html

[flvegan]

1. The man is a hero for this.

Nice work.

[WillParkinson]

2. Wow...

Quick thinking may have saved many lives. Good on him.

[SteppingRazor]

3. Wow. Did Innes' minivan have those Truck Nutz hanging from it?

Because that guy's got huge brass balls.

[MineralMan]

4. Wonderful! Fast thinking saved the day.

[davidinalameda]

5. this isn't anything special

most people rather get hit by a truck than go to a Mariners' game

:evilgrin:

[unblock]

6. duzy!

:rofl:

[lumberjack_jeff]

9. LOL! n/t

[Pacifist Patriot]

12. Award winning response. Truly!

[ThomCat]

7. That is Awesome! Here's to quick thinking!

:toast:

[louis-t]

8. Wow, great job!

I thought for a second it was Dick Cheney Syndrome.

[Control-Z]

10. Wow.

I wish I were capable of such a quick and accurate response. Though I've never been in a situation to test myself, I somehow think I would fail under these same circumstances.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

11. Wow! A real hero.

Kudos to Mr. Innes! :applause:

[petronius]

13. Especially impressive considering that 99% of people* would probably have gone

for a cell phone camera rather than trying to stop the car. Great work by Mr. Innes!

(* All DUers excluded of course; we'd try to help... :))