Kicker: Getaway forklift

NICK EICHER, HOST: A cautionary tale out of Ann Arbor, Michigan: A 12-year-old boy found a truck with a forklift, unlocked, the key inside. One guess what happened next: Fired it up, took it for a joyride.

Police were called.

POLICE: North bound Nixon, coming up towards Traver. Eighteen miles an hour.

I think you could make out the important part: 18 miles per hour, and the slow-speed chase was on. Stop lights, ignored. Same with the curb, drove right over it.

POLICE: Looks like he’s gonna possibly ditch it. He’s on the sidewalk now.

Then he started hitting parked cars, and the police had had it.

POLICE: Pull over! Pull over now!

This whole thing took an hour, if you can believe it, before he was finally stopped. Hard to believe nobody was injured.

But remember this: Lock it, and pocket the keys.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.