Police in Millbury, Massachusetts, were dispatched May 3 for a man operating a wheel loader erratically on a highway.
Officers headed out at 9:22 p.m. to try to stop the commandeered loader, but it was no longer on Route 20, according to the Millbury Police Department. They soon found it on nearby Park Hill Avenue. An officer turned on his squad car’s blue lights, but the operator wouldn’t stop.
“A slow-speed pursuit ensued at approximately 10–15 MPH,” according to a Millbury PD Facebook post.
As it kept going, the loader nearly struck multiple utility poles and swerved into oncoming traffic. The loader operator turned onto Martin Street, where an officer was waiting in his cruiser. He blocked the road, and the loader came to a stop.
“The operator eventually shut off the vehicle but refused to exit when ordered,” the Facebook post said. “Officers safely removed the individual without incident, and he was taken into custody.”
The 21-year-old man was charged with failure to stop for police, operating under the influence, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, a marked lanes violation, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, use of a motor vehicle without authority, and providing false identity information, according to Boston25News.
The loader was traced to its owner, a landscaping company that had been using it for snow removal in a parking lot, the news station reports.
