Runaway teen crashes forklift into Maverik after police chase on Riverside Drive

Windows are shattered and the building's awning damaged after a teen runaway crashed a forklift into the Maverik store at 2078 East Riverside Drive in St. George, Utah, Sept. 15, 2017 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A runaway teenage boy was apprehended after he allegedly took control of a forklift at a construction site and crashed it into a Maverik in St. George early Friday morning.

Windows are shattered and the building’s awning damaged after a teen runaway crashed a forklift into the Maverik store at 2078 East Riverside Drive in St. George, Utah, Sept. 15, 2017 | Photo courtesy John Griffin, St. George News

St. George Police officers were actively searching for a runaway 14-year-old boy Thursday night when the St. George 911 Communications Center received a call at 11:41 p.m. from two women who live at The Falls at Mesa Point reporting an unknown male matching the teen’s description knocking at their door while covering the peep hole, St. George Police Officer Lona Trombley said.

The residents refused to answer the door, and police responded and circulated the area, continuing their search for the boy.

About one hour later, officers responded to a construction site near the Red Rock Ridge apartments upon numerous reports of a male said to be yelling and knocking things over while driving a construction vehicle.

“Officers responded to the area and found the runaway driving a forklift along Riverside Drive with a Porta Potty lifted above the rig,” Trombley said. “Officers turned on their emergency lights and sirens in an attempt to get him to stop the forklift, but he continued driving.”

Windows are shattered and the building’s awning damaged after a teen runaway crashed a forklift into the Maverik store at 2078 East Riverside Drive in St. George, Utah, Sept. 15, 2017 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News

The boy began swerving at vehicles on the roadway, Trombley said, and eventually crashed the forklift into the front of the Maverik store at located at 2078 East Riverside Drive, at which point officers were able to safely take him into custody.

Several of the store’s windows were shattered in the incident, and a portion of the building’s awning was damaged.

The windows were boarded up, and the store was back to normal operation as of Friday, though some parking spaces near the front of the store were still blocked off by a gate surrounding the area of the crash.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

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Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

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3 Comments

  • comments September 15, 2017 at 11:05 pm

    oh wow, I’m sure he’s a great kid. An “honor student” just like michael brown. lol

  • John September 16, 2017 at 8:45 am

    What happened to the Porta Potty ?

  • Icomments2 September 16, 2017 at 5:24 pm

    Oh wow just like Michael Brown!!! Really!!!

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