12-year-old boy leading Michigan police on chase in stolen forklift caught on video
Video published by police in Ann Arbor, Mich., shows a police unit in pursuit of a stolen forklift driven by a 12-year-old boy.
The incident took place last Saturday. Police were notified about 6:45 p.m. that a juvenile was attempting to steal a forklift from a local middle school, according to the Ann Arbor Police Department.
Three minutes later, officers located the forklift on a local street, being driven without any lights on. Officers initiated pursuit, with speeds estimated at 15-20 mph.
In the video, an officer can be heard using his vehicle’s PA systems to order the driver to pull over, but the forklift continued on, striking at least 10 parked vehicles in an Ann Arbor residential neighborhood.
At another point, the forklift leaves the roadway and onto a residential sidewalk. The forklift is also seen crashing into a minivan, pushing it into a front yard.
About a half hour after the pursuit began, the forklift crossed a bridge and out of Ann Arbor jurisdiction. At that point, deputies from the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office picked up the pursuit, following the forklift for another 35 minutes before it finally came to a stop about 7:53 p.m.
The 12-year-old joyrider was taken into custody and transported to the local juvenile detention center.
Preliminary investigation indicates the boy gained access to the forklift because it was left unlocked with a key inside the cab at the middle school. Police identified the forklift as a Construction Genie GTH-636 Telehandler, which can weigh up to 35,000.
Ann Arbor police said no one was injured in the incident.
“This was a very dangerous situation that could’ve easily ended with serious injuries,” police said in a release, adding the incident remains under investigation.