BROOKLINE, MASS. (WHDH) - A man accused of stealing a small construction vehicle and driving it down a road in Brookline earlier this month is facing charges, police announced this week.
The wild ride was caught on camera on March 9 before 7 a.m. when a traffic camera mounted at the intersection of Boylston Street and Cypress Street captured video of the man driving the vehicle — a skid-steer — with at least one package on it.
Police said the man is accused of stealing several packages from nearby apartment buildings on Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue, in addition to the vehicle itself.
Police said officers spotted the man, who they said initially tried to flee. Officials were later able to catch up after what police described in a statement as an “extremely slow pursuit.”
Brookline Deputy Police Superintendent Paul Campbell said this was a first of its kind situation in his career.
He said the kind of vehicle allegedly stolen in this incident operates at “very very slow” speeds.
“[They] aren’t appropriate to be on the road in traffic,” Campbell noted.
“His claim was that he was an Amazon driver and that he was delivering packages to people,” Campbell said of the man arrested on March 9. “Again, this is about 20 minutes to seven in the morning and, clearly, this not an Amazon delivery-type vehicle”
He added that the suspect in this case should have left the machinery to do the job it was intended for.
“[It] doesn’t seem like he had the best plan thought out for these crimes,” Campbell said.
The man in this case has been charged with several different crimes.
He was being held on $1,500 bond Monday.
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