OnStar: Now Fighting Crime

We've all seen the OnStar commercials on TV. You know the ones: a bewildered woman or a couple, faces smushed into an inflated air bag, slowly emerge from the confusion of a recent crash as a voice fills their car with soothing words, reassuring them that help is on the way. It's all meant to convey OnStar's life-saving abilities. Well now, OnStar can do even more. The remote in-vehicle communications and diagnostic tool can help fight crime.

How is this possible? Read on.

Two Visalia, Calif. police officers were in hot pursuit of a carjacked SUV earlier this month when the car's OnStar service, operated by General Motors, sent a command to the car that electronically disabled the gas pedal, gradually slowing the car to a halt. This could be the best advertisement for GM in years!

Forced to flee on foot (leaving his bounty behind) the carjacker only managed to scale a few fences before he fell into backyard swimming pool where he was apprehended by police. It's the first time since OnStar started offering the new anti-theft service on 2009 car models that's it's actually been used with such success (no word on whether the whole event was staged. Just sayin'.)

"He wouldn't have pulled over if OnStar hadn't have shut the vehicle down," Visalia Police Sgt. Steve Phillips told The Associated Press. "Generally pursuits end in a collision."

And while there's certainly some humor to be had in imagining how the chase went down, the carjacking was anything but funny. The owner of the 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe, Jose Ruiz, 33, was actually sitting in his car when the suspect approached him with a sawed-off shotgun. But knowing his car had the new anti-theft service, Ruiz didn't resist. Just minutes after the thief sped off, he alerted some officers nearby and gave them the go-ahead to contact OnStar.

OnStar President Walt Dorfstatter told MSNBC it took only 16 minutes from the time the service was notified for the vehicle to be stopped. And while Ruiz was no doubt stoked to get his brand new SUV back, police were stoked that no one was hurt. According to MSNBC, 334 people were killed nationwide in crashes that stemmed from police pursuits last year, including five police officers.

Oh, and the suspect? He was jailed and faces preliminary charges of robbery, carjacking, possession of stolen property and resisting arrest.

Just think, if this service had been available in the '90s, O.J. Simpson wouldn't be the guy in the white Bronco. But for those of you addicted to those high-speed chases on FoxNews, never fear. The anti-theft service is only offered on 18 of GM's 30 vehicles outfitted with OnStar.

Guess thieves will think twice about what car they choose to steal from now on.

Photo courtesy of BlackHawkTraffic via Flickr.