North Charleston, SC – A tractor excavator was pursued by South Carolina police for more than an hour on a major highway, at a pace that is equivalent to that of an average adult. The pursuit was not particularly exciting.
Police reported that the pursuit in North Charleston reached velocities of 3 mph (4.8 kph) early Sunday morning.
The North Charleston Police Department reported that officers on a separate dispatch observed the large piece of construction equipment with treads and a shovel in front traverse U.S. Highway 78 at approximately 3:30 a.m.
The police received a burglary call from a business that was severely damaged a few minutes later, and they observed the excavator slowly departing, according to the authorities.
A number of vehicles promptly participated in the pursuit, which was conducted at an extremely slow pace. The excavator was operating at such a slow pace that the cruisers were required to momentarily halt on numerous occasions per minute in order to avoid passing the construction equipment.
Their blue lights and sirens were activated, and they informed the excavator driver via their loudspeakers that he was being arrested and required to cease operations. Traffic was obstructed by other cruisers.
The excavator was pursued for an hour and 12 minutes before becoming ensnared on the Charleston County Fairgrounds property. According to authorities, the driver attempted to flee, but a drone pursued him until a police dog and handler apprehended him.
According to jail records, the 53-year-old excavator driver was incarcerated in the Charleston County jail on a $22,000 bond after being charged with two counts of malicious injury to real property and failure to halt for a blue light.
