A police chase, a stolen Bobcat, and the owner in back
He walked out of Atwoods in Andover on Tuesday night only to see his truck – and the Bobcat skid loader it was pulling in a trailer – leaving the parking lot.
He decided he wouldn’t lose them without a fight.
So the man jumped onto the trailer as his truck was heading out of the parking lot, calling 911 after he had climbed into the cab of the Bobcat and locked himself inside shortly before 7:15 p.m., Andover Police Chief Mike Keller said.
“He went on a long ride,” Keller said of the truck’s owner.
Andover police officers spotted the stolen vehicle heading west on Central almost immediately after the 911 call. A chase began, continuing west into Sedgwick County. Wichita police officers picked up the chase from there.
The suspect turned south on Webb Road, then west on 47th Street South before he went back north on Oliver. Three different times, Sedgwick County sheriff’s deputies deployed tire-deflation devices.
“We all knew we had a victim in the back of the trailer,” Keller said.
The suspect was able to avoid the first two sets of spike strips but lost control of the truck as he swerved to avoid the third set, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Lt. Tracy Spreier said. He wrecked on the northwest corner of Oliver and MacArthur – with the owner still locked inside the Bobcat.
The suspect climbed out of the truck and ran back to the trailer, where he confronted the owner. A sheriff’s deputy deployed his police dog, who subdued the suspect.
The suspect was arrested, then taken to a local hospital for treatment of dog bites, Spreier said. The owner of the stolen vehicle escaped injury despite being in the cab of the Bobcat during the chase.
“That is amazing,” Keller said. “He went on one heck of a ride, but he is safe.”
Speeds reached between 70 and 90 mph at times during the chase, Keller said. There is no indication the suspect and the truck owner know each other, he said.
Authorities closed Oliver from 47th Street South to 31st Street South as the investigation into the theft and crash continued.
Stan Finger: 316-268-6437, @StanFinger
Strange Kansas stories in the news
Today's story isn't the first time an unusual Wichita or Kansas story has made the rounds.
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This story was originally published March 14, 2017 at 8:11 PM with the headline "A police chase, a stolen Bobcat, and the owner in back."