Child driving stolen forklift truck hits 10 cars during police chase in Michigan

A 12-year-old boy driving a stolen forklift truck led police in the US on an hour-long chase – and hit about 10 parked cars during the pursuit.

The truck, equipped with a forklift and weighing up to 35,000 pounds, was stolen from outside a middle school in Ann Arbor, Michigan, using a key found in the cab, the city’s police department said.

Police were called to the school around 6.45pm on Saturday and later found the boy driving down a street without the truck’s headlights on.

With emergency lights and sirens on, officers pursued the vehicle at 15 to 20 mph, the Ann Arbor Police Department said.

“This was a very dangerous situation that could’ve easily ended with serious injuries,” the force added.

“The incident remains an active and ongoing criminal investigation.”

In footage released by police of the pursuit, an officer can be heard urging the boy to “pull over now!” and saying “he’s lowering the hooks”, as well as warning a colleague not to go in front of the forklift.

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Nobody was injured in the incident, police said.

Officers stopped the pursuit about 7.20pm.

The Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office picked up the pursuit until just before 8pm when the child stopped driving.

The boy, whose identity was not released because he is a minor, was taken into custody Saturday night and put in a juvenile detention centre.