DETROIT (WWJ) — Police are searching for a suspect after a crash on I-94 Sunday morning involving a stolen excavator.
It all unfolded shortly before 10 a.m. on Oct. 20, according to Michigan State Police, when troopers were called to westbound I-94 at Frontenac, just west of Van Dyke.
Multiple people called 911 to report that a flatbed truck hauling an excavator went under the overpass and the machine slammed into the bridge.
The CAT excavator was found tipped on its side, leaking fuel and hydraulic fluid onto the freeway, MSP officials said.
The driver of the flatbed “failed to remain on scene or make any attempt to contact police regarding the crash.” Investigators later determined the excavator was “freshly stolen” from a worksite on Seneca Street in Detroit, according to MSP.
Troopers searched the area for signs of the truck, but the suspect was not found.
The owner of the excavator filed a police report.
MSP officials said the damage to the is superficial and the right two lanes of travel were closed for cleanup after the crash.