Stolen Government Tow Truck Wreaks Havoc On The Road

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There’s an old question about where an 800-pound gorilla sleeps, which of course is anywhere it wants, which is a little bit like this stolen Maryland Department of Transportation tow truck. After all, the thing weighs quite a bit more than other vehicles on the road, being a heavy-duty truck with that massive tow kit on the rear. And the thief uses that to his advantage, pushing the police and other cars around, literally.

Dodge Magnum proves tough for police to PIT.

At one point police box the tow truck in. But the suspect uses the grille guard to push past one of the cruisers, then he goes off-roading in a vehicle which can handle the conditions with ease. At other times during the chase, the suspect uses the brawn of the tow truck to push police and citizen cars out of the way without breaking a sweat.

We often see cases of emergency vehicles being stolen by individuals. Usually what happens is the first responders arrive on the scene of an incident and leave their vehicles idling so they can run auxiliary systems, etc.

While the first responders are busy helping people, so they’re distracted, a suspect who’s either part of the original incident or who just happens to be there sees an opportunity and goes for it, jumping in and taking off in the idling ride.

This has happened with police cars, ambulances, fire trucks, and more. And we constantly ask why there isn’t an aftermarket solution using NFC tech to keep the transmission from shifting into gear unless something from a first responder is detected in the driver’s seat?

That would alleviate this problem altogether. The thing is many of these first responder vehicles, like this tow truck, are big and have push bars/grille guards and other reinforcements which make them difficult to take down.

Until a solution is found, which we think could happen rapidly if the right decision makers were onboard, these types of incidents are going to just keep happening.

Image via WUSA9/YouTube

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