Knife-wielding North Carolina man leads police on chase on John Deere tractor, reaching 20 mph

Knife-wielding North Carolina man leads police on chase on John Deere tractor, reaching 20 mph

A knife-wielding North Carolina man was Tased and arrested after he led police on an hour-long chase atop a John Deere tractor.

Watauga Online reports the tractor driver reportedly hit at least two vehicles and pushed a dumpster into a church building, according to scanner dispatches.

Spike strips were deployed and law enforcement shot out the back right tire of the tractor.

The chase continued at speeds of around 20 mph, per the report. The man was charged, per the Watauga Democrat, with felony flee/elude arrest, felony assault on a government official with a deadly weapon, misdemeanor resisting public officer, reckless driving-wanton disregard, misdemeanor DWI and a driving left of center infraction.

Boone Police Chief Andy Le Beau said the man was “intentionally” driving toward vehicles.

“Our officers tried to use stop sticks but because it’s a tractor, the stop sticks were not effective on the back tires,” Le Beau said, per the Democrat. “When he got outside of town into an area that didn’t have any homes or businesses, we did shoot one of the tractor tires in an effort to get the vehicle stopped.”

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.