Boy Steals Forklift, Leads Officers On Wild Chase In Ann Arbor: Police

ANN ARBOR, MI — A child was arrested Saturday after police said he stole a forklift in Ann Arbor and led officers on an hourlong chase.

The 12-year-old boy found the forklift at Forsythe Middle School and began driving the construction vehicle (without any lights turned on) south on Brooks Street near Pearl Street at 6:45 p.m., police said.

Investigators said the forklift was unlocked with the key hidden inside the cab and parked at the middle school.

Video posted to social media showed multiple officers chasing the forklift at speeds of 15 to 20 miles per hour with emergency lights and sirens on, police said.

As officers chased the forklift through the Georgetown Boulevard neighborhood, the construction vehicle struck roughly ten parked cars, police said.

Officers stopped chasing the forklift at 7:18 p.m. when it turned northbound onto Nixon Road and then across the Michigan 14 bridge, police said.

Officers with the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office then started chasing the forklift until it stopped in the area of Michigan 14 and Gotfredson Road at 7:53 p.m., police said.

Officers then arrested the 12-year-old boy, whom they said was driving the stolen forklift, and placed him in the juvenile detention center, police said.

Officials said there were no injuries during the chase.

The construction vehicle was a Construction Genie GTH-636 Telehandler, which is equipped with a forklift and can weigh up to 35,000 pounds.