Apple Valley police said Thursday that a man was seriously injured after a sedan rolled backward down a Guild Avenue driveway and pinned him beneath it. Witnesses told officers the man had tried to stop the vehicle as it moved down the steep incline.
Officers were initially dispatched to the home, just west of Wallace Park, for a report that a bicyclist had been struck. Investigators later determined that no bicycle was involved, according to CBS News. First responders lifted the sedan from the man, who was identified only as male, and he was taken to a hospital. Authorities have not said why the vehicle began rolling or whether anyone was inside it.
Why the Driveway Turned Deadly Serious
Guild Avenue is in a residential area of Apple Valley near Wallace Park. A City of Apple Valley filing is cited in connection with the location. The steep grade is part of the reported circumstances, but investigators have not identified what caused the sedan to move.
People can be injured in rollaway incidents while attempting to re-enter or physically stop a moving vehicle. Non-traffic crashes can also involve injuries and fatalities to people outside vehicles.
What vehicle-safety records show
A 2025 recall involving certain 2024-2025 Chevrolet Blazer EV vehicles identified loss of parking-brake function as a condition that could allow an unattended vehicle to roll away, increasing the risk of a crash, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and General Motors. That recall establishes a recognized vehicle-safety hazard, but it does not indicate that the Apple Valley sedan had that defect or explain what caused it to roll. The available record also does not establish which preventive steps, if any, were taken in this incident.
How Crews Freed the Trapped Man
Freeing someone pinned beneath a multi-thousand-pound sedan requires more than brute strength. First responders helped free the man. Rapid, careful extrication can be important in such incidents.
The Minnesota State Patrol is now assisting Apple Valley police with the investigation, according to the same CBS News report. The State Patrol's investigative methods and evidence have not been described. Police have not said what set the car in motion, and that question remains unanswered.
A Recurring Hazard in Driveways Nationwide
This is not an isolated concern. Hoodline has reported on a similar rollaway incident elsewhere this month, including a case in Tukwila where officers lifted a car off a pinned man. A separate case was also mentioned, but its details are not established by the available sources.
The available reporting does not identify a safety system involved in the Apple Valley incident or establish whether any equipment malfunction contributed to the vehicle's movement. Unattended rollaways can injure people outside vehicles, but the cause in this case remains under investigation.
Apple Valley police have not released the man's condition beyond describing his injuries as serious, and no further details about the investigation have been made public. The case remains active as the State Patrol works alongside local police to determine what caused the sedan to move.
