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A dad is being called a hero after he rescues his four kids when they’re taken during a carjacking. Last week, Burnsville, Minnesota, dad Derek Gotchie was dropping off gifts at a friend’s house. His wife, Deanah, had just taken the last gift out and asked him to close up the back of their SUV so their four children wouldn’t get cold. "I'm shutting the trunk, this guy jumps out of this taxi minivan, runs to my truck,” Derek recalls. “I run to the door of my truck and I try and open it and he just takes off."
The minivan the alleged carjacker left behind was reportedly stolen too. It was parked in the road, still running, and with the door wide open. Derek says his “dad instincts” kicked in and he jumped in the minivan and started chasing after his truck. “My first thought was I'm jumping in this van and I'm going to get my kids," he says. A couple blocks away, Derek catches up with his SUV and when the carjacker turns to avoid another car, Derek rams into the back of his vehicle trying to pin it against a fence. The suspected carjacker jumps out and yells “I’m sorry” as he flees the scene on foot.
Derek checked to make sure his kids were alright and police arrived moments later followed by Deanah. She and others familiar with the incident are calling Derek a hero, but he disagrees. "I'm a dad doing dad things,” he says. “My kids, they are coming home with me no matter what."
Police are still searching for the carjacking suspect and say he could face carjacking and kidnapping charges.