BUTTE - A man is in custody in connection with the theft of a haul truck loaded with tons of broken concrete, driving it through Butte before crashing at an Uptown park Wednesday evening.
A stolen dump truck. Tons of concrete. A crash in a Butte park. Here's what happened:
One of the employees for the company that owns the dump truck said they were shocked to learn someone would take it on such a dangerous joyride.
“To steal a dump truck, you know! I’ve heard of stealing cars and stuff, but around here?” C Davies Enterprises Foreman Bob Rader said.
Butte police arrested 49-year-old Butte resident Thomas Thompson, and he faces multiple charges including felony theft, criminal endangerment and resisting arrest.
Police allege Thompson stole the large dump truck from a work site off Elizabeth Warren Avenue, drove through Butte, and crashed just after 8 o’clock the evening of Sept. 23rd at Cherokee Park off Copper Street.
The dump truck is owned by C Davies Enterprises and was fully loaded with broken concrete the day it was stolen. Rader says it’s fortunate the thief didn’t do more damage with the truck.
“Oh, very dangerous, very dangerous. You know, fully loaded, those trucks are, you know, 40, 50,000 pounds.” Rader said.
Police say the driver hit and damaged a utility pole during the incident. One resident said he heard the impact and a loud bang, and he lost power to his residence for about six hours.
“I’m really impressed actually with the speed of replacing an entire telephone pole, and it’s just luck that the park wasn’t more damaged by such a big truck,” Copper Street resident Richard Gibson said.
Police allege the suspect resisted arrest and had to be subdued by a taser.
Rader said his company hopes to get their truck repaired soon.
“We’re a small company, you know, we don’t have numerous dump trucks to just cycle in and out, you know, it sets us back a little bit, you know, we only have two trucks,” he said.
Butte Sheriff Ed Lester said the incident was still under investigation Thursday.
