Boy, 11, Facing Charges In Dodge County Cement Truck Theft, Chase

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Witnesses in a southern Minnesota town say an 11-year-old boy stole a cement truck and took police on a high-speed chase.

The chase began around 3:00 p.m. Sunday near the town of Kasson.

It lasted over an hour as the boy inside took deputies across the county.

He even collided with a state patrol car and a police car.

The boy was eventually stopped in the town of Dodge Center, and tried to run from the truck but was caught.

"All the sudden I seen the truck go through a yard, going right towards me," said witness Troy Flatness.

A quick trip to the store Sunday afternoon turned into a mad dash for safety for Flatness. Just blocks from his Dodge Center home, he saw a cement truck heading right for him. He got his car out of the way just in time.

"It was crazy. Someone could have gotten killed easily," said Flatness.

Witnesses said the driver was an 11-year-old Dodge Center boy. Early in the chase the truck slammed into a state patrol car, and later it collided with a Kasson Police car.

The Dodge County Sheriff's office said speeds reached more than 70 miles an hour at times. Several unsuccessful attempts were made to stop the truck.

"It was like a parade. Everybody was outside with their cameras and their phones," said Flatness.

A sergeant put stop sticks on the highway that took out the right front tire of the truck but that didn't stop it. It continued on just its rim.

"Just wore it down to nothing," said witness Jeff Beddow.

During the course of the chase the rim of the truck did a lot of damage to lawns and city streets.

About an hour after the chase started, the truck stopped in a cul-de-sac in Dodge Center and the boy was taken into custody. Beddow said the driver was in his 4-H club. He feels lucky that no one was hurt.

"He was raised in a farming environment. He can drive tractors. He can drive trucks. He knew what he was doing," said Beddow. "He was not stopping for anything. If there would have been a car or pedestrian in the way, it would have been disastrous."

The boy was taken to the Juvenile Detention Center in Rochester and is expected to be formally charged.

The Dodge County sheriff's office says this is a reminder to remove keys from all vehicles, regardless of size.