California police were involved in a low-speed chase of a forklift that awakened a neighborhood with sirens, witnesses said.
“I was already awake, but it sounded like every officer in Sacramento was in the neighborhood,” California resident James Nunnely told CBS13.
Sacramento Police said they spotted a forklift on the road Sunday evening into Monday morning on Fair Oaks Boulevard in the Arden Arcade area before launching their pursuit. The driver allegedly refused to yield to police, sparking the low-speed chase.
Nunnely said it was the slowest chase he’s ever witnessed, according to CBS. The chase lasted roughly 35 minutes, according to The Sacramento Bee.
“They’re talking about this forklift, and I’m thinking, ‘OK, there’s a forklift parked on a street somewhere that they’re worried about running into,'” James Nunnely said. “And then I realized, ‘No, they’re chasing a forklift.'”
The resident said police responded in force.
“It was surrounding. It was like all you could hear was sirens,” he said. “It was everywhere.”
Video footage of the chase posted on social media shows police sirens blaring in the quiet neighborhoods late at night.
“Just before midnight, officers observed a forklift driving down the roadway near the 2700 block of Fair Oaks Boulevard,” a Sacramento Police spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Officers attempted to conduct an enforcement stop, but the forklift driver refused to stop, and a pursuit ensued.
“The forklift continued onto the bike trail and took down a fence near Glenn Hall Park, dragging it down the trail before becoming disabled. The driver was taken into custody on the bike trail near Howe River access without incident,”
The forklift was reportedly moving at 10 miles per hour, according to KCRA.
“We were looking out our window, and we could see what looked like a forklift going fairly slow, just kind of casually cruising down our street here, Teichert, and then there was seven cop cars trailing behind it,” resident Chelsea Leber told KCRA.
Police nabbed the suspect, identified as Wayne Mathern, 47, on the bike trail.
He is facing charges of evading, resisting arrest and vandalism.
“The forklift is believed to be stolen, but investigators have been unable to locate the owner,” police told Fox News Digital.
Mathern was previously charged this month with misdemeanor battery on a peace officer and misdemeanor giving false information. He failed to appear in court Oct. 16 for those charges, according to local media.
