Police pursued a stolen SkyTrak telehandler in a low-speed chase from Lorena to Waco, Texas the night of Dec. 4.
The chase began after a police officer on patrol saw the telehandler travelling down Interstate 35 without reflective safety marks or lights, the Waco Tribune-Herald reported. When the officer tried to stop the driver, twenty-nine-year-old Edwin Cyrus Rodriguez kept on driving.
"He continued going at about 20 mph after our officer activated his lights," said Lorena Police Chief Tom Dickson.
The chase continued for around 20 minutes across 10 miles, prompting officers to call for backup from the Robinson Police Department, the Hewitt Police Department, the Bruceville-Eddy Police Department and the McLennan County Sheriff's Office. The chase ended in Waco after a sheriff's office deputy fired a nonleathal projectile at Rodriguez, striking him, the Waco Tribune-Herald reported.
Investigators learned that Rodriguez had stolen the telehandler earlier in the day from a construction site in Bruceville-Eddy.
Rodriguez, who was taken to the hospital for evaluation before being sent to McLennan County Jail, was arrested for two third-degree felonies for theft under $150,000 and evading arrest in a vehicle, the Waco Tribune-Herald reported. Bond was listed at $20,000.
