Man shares potentially life-saving driving tip after his friend dies in a tragic car accident
"Hopefully, someone will see this and will learn how to save their life.”
Car accident left, hand gripping gearshift right.
A TikTok creator is using his platform to share potentially life-saving information after losing a close friend in a tragic car accident.
Aaron Brown shared with millions of viewers that he recently learned his friend died when her vehicle began accelerating on its own, something he believes might have been survivable if she had known the safest way to respond in that moment.
“If your accelerator on your car sticks, and you got a sticky gas pedal, don’t try and steer,” he cautioned. “Your engine is running away. Your engine is stuck accelerating for some reason. Your transmission is not. If you have a runaway car, to save your life, grab your shifter and put your shifter into neutral.”
Brown continued, explaining that while the engine would continue “doing its own thing,” the car would start to slow down, allowing someone to then hit the brakes, pull the emergency brake, and pull over. Once the car has come to a stop, it can be shut off.
Brown said he shared the story with a single intention: he wanted others to have clear guidance if they ever find themselves in a runaway vehicle, a situation that can understandably create extreme panic and confusion.
“Please do not try to drive out a runaway accelerating vehicle," he said. "You will die.”
His straightforward message is supported by the DMV, which also suggests applying the brakes at the same time you shift into neutral.
In addition to sharing condolences on the loss of his friend, many viewers chimed in with their own stories of being protected by this trick.
“Happened to my mom when I was a kid. The car wouldn’t stop and the brakes weren’t working. We were going through a busy intersection, this man yelled out of his window for her to put it in neutral and then use the emergency brake,” one person wrote. “One of the scariest moments of my life.”
“This happened to me once,” added another. “It was incredibly scary, and I think I was like 17. I didn’t think at the moment to put it in neutral, but when I called 911 they calmly talked me through it.”
People also shared additional information that can help drivers stay safe, such as not panicking when the car gets louder after going into neutral (which is normal), not turning off the car until it has come to a complete stop, and, in perhaps more desperate situations, slowing the car down faster by scratching the side of it against a barrier.
Still, many viewers simply noted how stunned they were that they had never learned this simple disaster-preventing action in Driver’s Ed class.
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And this is precisely what compelled Brown to make his video. He ended his message by acknowledging the deep loss of his friend and expressing hope that sharing what he learned may help someone else survive. “Her death is very tragic,” he said, “and I just wanted to put this out there that maybe, hopefully, someone will see this and will learn how to save their life.”