It should have been another normal day for this Minnesota father, but the unexpected can always happen.
It’s a good thing he was ready.
Meet Derek Gotchie of Burnsville, Minnesota. He’s a father of four and got a chance to prove how good of a dad he is.
Derek has a lot of people depending on him.
A family of 6 has a lot of heads to look after, and it takes a lot of love and commitment to be the father of such a family.
The fear of something happening to your kids always haunts a parent’s mind, but that’s part of being a parent.
This took place last winter, and Derek won’t ever forget it.
On the 800 Block of Russel Avenue North, Derek took his 2013 GMC Yukon XL out to deliver some presents to a buddy.
The Yukon XL is a sizable truck with plenty of room for a family of 6.
With the errand done, Derek’s wife asked him to shut the trunk. That’s when someone ran up and stole the truck right in front of him.
With such a large vehicle, it does take a bit longer to circle around from the driver’s seat to the trunk and vice versa.
This was the opportunity that the car thief was waiting for.
All while Derek was by the trunk, the thief sprinted up to the open driver’s door and hopped in the vehicle.
“I’m shutting the trunk this guy jumps out of this taxi minivan and runs to my truck. I run to the door of my truck and I try and open it and he just takes off.” he told CBS News.
It was bad enough that his truck was stolen, but his kids were still in there too. Derek had no time to waste.
The thief’s overconfidence spelled convenience for Derek, albeit not in a situation you’d ever want to be in.
See, the thief left their own vehicle open and running.
I suppose getting his grubby hands on a nice, big truck made him forget that he left his own vehicle behind for Derek to use.
“….my first thought was I’m jumping in this van and I’m going to get my kids.”
Derek hopped into the thief’s minivan and chased him down.
His 4 kids depended on it, and he would follow the suspect to the ends of the earth if it meant saving his kids.
After giving chase for a bit, Derek caught up to the thief. He followed him down the wrong end of a one-way street.
The oncoming cars forced the thief to turn and wait behind some parked cars – just the opportunity Derek needed.
Now the problem was getting his attention – and his kids.
Derek preferred a blunt approach – both figuratively and literally.
The second that the thief turned the car to avoid the oncoming vehicles, Derek greeted him by ramming the minivan into the stolen SUV.
Derek’s little maneuver trapped the carjacker behind the minivan and a fence. Nowhere to go now.
Having saved his kids, Derek hopped out to see if they were okay.
Just as he did, the thief made a run for it while exclaiming “I’m sorry!”.
With the fearlessness of any dad protecting his kids, Derek made sure his kids could come home safely.
When his wife arrived at the scene, the police were there before her.
She asked them if they got the kids, and they promptly responded with “Your husband did!”
The family SUV was damaged, but thankfully, the kids were safe.
Most would agree that Derek is a hero, even if he doesn’t think he is.
He told CBS News:
“[I’m] not really a hero, I’m a dad doing dad things. My kids, they are coming home with me no matter what.”
Click on the video below to hear Derek tell the story himself!
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