GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — In an unusual police pursuit, Gwinnett County officers arrested a man accused of stealing a large construction vehicle and driving it on several roads.
The 38-year-old man is facing charges of criminal trespass, theft by taking, fleeing or attempting to elude, reckless driving, criminal damage to property and obstruction of a law enforcement officer.
Officers were called to a waste management business on Corley Road around 11 a.m. Saturday. According to police, the responding officer learned that a former worker had stolen a yellow front loader and was driving the 75,000-pound equipment on the property.
In the video police released, the officer can be heard yelling for the driver to stop multiple times.
Officer: Stop, stop, stop! Hey! Stop!
He calls it in on his radio, giving an update on what was happening.
Officer: I have no way of stopping this vehicle.
The driver eventually left the property and headed down Corley Road, and the chase was on. Sirens could be heard as officers traveled the streets following behind the front loader.
Gwinnett County Police called the man's driving erratic, saying "his movements were unpredictable as he navigated heavy traffic." Even as the pursuit is underway, you can hear an officer say, "This is unbelievable."
Gwinnett Police said that other agencies got involved in trying to stop the fleeing driver. Police also returned to the business to get another construction vehicle that could help disable
By the time the driver made it to Singleton Road near Robin Hill, police said the pursuing front loader was able to flip the fleeing vehicle onto its side. This is about five miles from the original location, police said.
After the man was arrested, he was evaluated at a hospital and then placed in the Gwinnett County Jail.