‘Unbelievable’ police chase ends with front-end loaders battling in road, video shows
A street fight straight out of a “Transformers” movie erupted in traffic when two front-end loaders battled each other during a police chase in Georgia, video shows.
The Saturday, March 23, incident in Norcross began about 11 a.m. when a waste management company reported one of its front-end loaders had been stolen. Norcross is a 20-mile drive northeast of Atlanta.
Gwinnett County police gave chase but discovered squad cars were helpless to stop the the 75,000-pound piece of heavy equipment.
Their solution was to send another front-end loader to chase it down, which resulted in a low-speed demolition derby. High speed for a front-end loader is only 30 mph, the video noted.
“This is unbelievable,” one officer is heard saying as the massive vehicles slammed each other. “Unbelievable.”
The chase was in its fifth mile when a garbage truck blocked a road and the pursuing front-end loader got its bucket in the perfect position to flip the stolen vehicle, video shows.
“The suspect ... was removed from the cab of the front-loader and placed under arrest. He was evaluated at a local hospital,” police said.
“While investigating the incident, the reporting officer learned (the suspect) was terminated from the business in September 2023. He visited the business several days prior and did something similar but never left the property.”
The 38-year-old Delaware man was charged with criminal trespass, theft by taking, fleeing or attempting to elude, reckless driving, second degree criminal damage to property, and obstruction of a law enforcement officer, officials said.
“No motorists were injured, nor were any vehicles or patrol cars damaged,” police said.
Investigators did not release details of what the man wanted with the front-end loader or where he was going with it.
This story was originally published March 26, 2024 at 11:03 AM with the headline "‘Unbelievable’ police chase ends with front-end loaders battling in road, video shows."