An 18-year-old man driving a John Deere bulldozer crushed the front of a Kankakee police car and lead cops on a miles-long chase before being tased by an officer Thursday morning, authorities say.
Charges were pending Thursday against Austin D. White, 18, of Bourbonnais.
Kankakee police say an off duty officer saw the bulldozer “spinning around” in the street near the intersection of North Schuyler avenue and East Mullberry Street in Kankakee, police said.
Officers found the dozer headed south on Schuyler Avenue and attempted to pull it over in a marked squad car, according to police.
White put the bulldozer in reverse and backed over the front of the squad car, crushing it, after the officer had exited the vehicle, police said. The officer was not injured but the cruiser was “heavily damaged,” police said.
White then lead the cops on a 12-block chase in the heavy machinery before its cab window was broken out and a officers shot him with a Taser, police said.
White was taken to the St. Mary’s Hospital for his injuries, according to police.
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The bulldozer had been taken from a construction site at 990 North Kindzie Avenue in Bradley, police said.
White drove the bulldozer nearly 5 miles during the chase, police said.
Photos of the smashed police cruiser were circulated on social media Thursday.
“Someone stole a bulldozer and ran over a cop car,” tweeted Zach Madsen. “If that ain’t the most Kankakee County sounding s--- of all time [I don’t know] what is.”
The Kankakee County state’s attorney’s office did not answer the phone Friday.
