MI - 12-year-old steals construction forklift - leads police on chase through Ann Arbor

[BetteDavisEyes]

Video: Kid in stolen construction forklift leads police on chase through Ann Arbor

A 12-year-old boy was taken into custody Saturday after stealing a construction vehicle parked outside an Ann Arbor middle school and leading police on an hourlong pursuit.

www.clickondetroit.com

I watched the 30-minute video but would have liked to see LE finally stop the kid and take him into custody. The chase lasted nearly an hour, and I wonder why police didn't make more of an effort to stop him. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the kid hit several parked vehicles. Unbelievable!

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

12-year-old arrested after stolen forklift pursuit in Washtenaw Co., police say

The child-driven forklift, weighing 35,000 pounds, struck nearly 10 vehicles during the chase through Washtenaw County on Saturday, police said.

www.detroitnews.com

 

[al66pine]

Hitting Parked Cars?

Video: Kid in stolen construction forklift leads police on chase through Ann Arbor

A 12-year-old boy was taken into custody Saturday after stealing a construction vehicle parked outside an Ann Arbor middle school and leading police on an hourlong pursuit.

www.clickondetroit.com

.... 30-minute video... The chase lasted nearly an hour.... the kid hit several parked vehicles. Unbelievable

snipped for focus @BetteDavisEyes Thanks for opening thread.
Did not watch the Detroit news vid in your link, but hitting parked cars?
Maybe while on his vid game console playing Grand Theft Auto, he did not spend enough time practicing his driving skills./sarc
Maybe he was focusing on shooting & other violence in the game?/sarc

______________________________
For anyone not familiar w GTA video action-adventure video game which "revolves around driving and shooting" ---- Player role-plays as someone "who attempts to rise through the criminal underworld... "

Grand Theft Auto - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Laughing]

Sadly, linked article includes:

Police told Local 4 that the boy is known to officials.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

During last evening's 6:00 News on WDIV, it was mentioned that the 12-year-old is already known to local law enforcement. Since he's a minor, we will probably never know the youth's name or how he's already had contact with local authorities. I hope the boy gets help for whatever his issues are, and his parent/s should be held accountable for the damage that was done to parked vehicles during his escapade in the forklift. JMO

 

[Elliot_Alderson]

Video: Kid in stolen construction forklift leads police on chase through Ann Arbor

A 12-year-old boy was taken into custody Saturday after stealing a construction vehicle parked outside an Ann Arbor middle school and leading police on an hourlong pursuit.

www.clickondetroit.com

I watched the 30-minute video but would have liked to see LE finally stop the kid and take him into custody. The chase lasted nearly an hour, and I wonder why police didn't make more of an effort to stop him. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the kid hit several parked vehicles. Unbelievable!

Giving me flashbacks of Latarian Milton

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[al66pine]

Unlocked Vehicle w Hidden(?) Key. Merely a Joyride?

12-year-old arrested after stolen forklift pursuit in Washtenaw Co., police say

The child-driven forklift, weighing 35,000 pounds, struck nearly 10 vehicles during the chase through Washtenaw County on Saturday, police said.

www.detroitnews.com

@BetteDavisEyes
A vehicle was left on a construction site (fenced? unfenced?) over a weekend “unlocked with the key hidden inside the cab” per police.*
Seriously, who does that?
Maybe a construction company whose liability insurance policy is not going to be renewed?

"Unclear how the youth found"* it, per LE.
Maybe the key was not well hidden and the youth actually looked around the cab?

In driving the vehicle around for __ (an hour?), the kid did not wreak the havoc he could have potentially caused. Thank goodness.

If, either knowingly or by accident, he had extended the crane up to FULL 36 foot (10.+ meter) height,** could it have sliced thru overhead ELECTRIC lines? Maybe toppled utility poles? Ignited fires in yards? Spread to HOUSES, burning them to the ground? Maybe injuries to people too. Even deaths?

ClickonDetroit says, "Police told Local 4 that the boy is known to officials."***
Personally, I'm not doubting that.
_________________________
* "The forklift's keys were hidden in the forklift's cab. It was unclear how the youth found the forklift's keys in the cab, police said."

12-year-old arrested after stolen forklift pursuit in Washtenaw Co., police say

The child-driven forklift, weighing 35,000 pounds, struck nearly 10 vehicles during the chase through Washtenaw County on Saturday, police said.

www.detroitnews.com

** Initially w only a faint idea of what "Genie GTH-636 Telehandler forklift" does, I learned it is a big boy, as confirmed by LE's chase video. Not like the little puny forklifts we see in Sams Club or Home Depot.
Telehandlers (aka telescopic handlers) have ... pallet-lifting prongs of a forklift and the increased range of motion of a crane..."

https://www.bigrentz.com/blog/types-of-construction-vehicles

This one specifically: "Maximum lift height 36 ft 10.97 m.

https://www.genielift.com/docs/default-source/product-specifications/telehandlers/en/gth-636-product-specifications-2020.pdf?sfvrsn=535a4578_2

*** Video: Kid in stolen construction forklift leads police on chase through Ann Arbor

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Hitting Parked Cars?
snipped for focus @BetteDavisEyes Thanks for opening thread.
Did not watch the Detroit news vid in your link, but hitting parked cars?
Maybe while on his vid game console playing Grand Theft Auto, he did not spend enough time practicing his driving skills./sarc
Maybe he was focusing on shooting & other violence in the game?/sarc

If you have time, the video is definitely worthwhile. My husband and I watched in amazement as the 12-year-old "driver" took Ann Arbor police and Washtenaw County authorities on a joy ride on main roads, through neighborhoods with cars parked along the street, running multiple STOP signs and red lights. Thankfully, the forklift did not reach speeds over 20 mph in which case the kid could have done a lot more damage and caused collisions along his route. I hope the entire video is released at some point so I can see how the chase finally came to a close and the kid was taken into custody.

 

[Laughing]

The linked article states that the vehicle was parked at a middle school, and that the key was hidden in the cab.

Was a certain 12-year-old student interested in the construction vehicles, and watched the operator, including watching where said operator hid the key?

jmho, of course, jmho

 

[al66pine]

The linked article states that the vehicle was parked at a middle school, and that the key was hidden in the cab.
Was a certain 12-year-old student interested in the construction vehicles, and watched the operator, including watching where said operator hid the key?
jmho, of course, jmho

@Laughing Thanks for your post.
Good thought about the student watching, possibly seeing the eqmt operator hide the key.
Depends on student's location?
Could someone on ground floor of single story bldg see that happening?


Per Ann Arbor school webgpage, FMS is "one-story."*
W quick-ee google search of images for the school, looks like single story.
On 2023 Google map of Forsythe MidSch at link below, I can see construction vehicles w dirt work or excavation in progress, bottom left of bldg. I cannot tell how close.

Your suggestion seems possible. TYVM.
_____________________________________
* From webpage w no date:
"Forsythe Middle School, originally constructed in 1960, is a one-story masonry structure with exterior brick veneer."

Forsythe Middle School - Ann Arbor Public Schools Bond

Forsythe Middle School, originally constructed in 1960, is a one-story masonry structure with exterior brick veneer. The school facility is situated on 26 acres in the northwest sector of Ann Arbor. The original structure has experienced at least 2 additions over the years, and currently...

a2schoolsbond.org

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Local media reports and video indicate that students are attending classes as usual while renovation is underway at Forsyth Middle School. The 12-year-old "joy rider" is likely a student at Forsyth and might have seen the forklift in action and knew that the operator left the keys in the construction vehicle. Having watched the video of the chase, this kid knows how to operate a vehicle and obviously knew the area because he had no trouble maneuvering the forklift through neighborhoods, traversing main roads, making abrupt turns in an effort to elude LE in pursuit. It really is awesome (but scary) to watch! JMO