Watch: Florida Man Steals Amazon Van, Twirls Out of 4 P.I.T. Maneuvers Before Footrace
This Prime-fulfilling van just earned an agility award. A 23-year-old usurped an Amazon Ford Transit delivery van carrying car parts to a local dealership. They then sped around and down I-95 in Miami. After a lengthy and dangerous chase down the freeway, the driver bailed and ultimately surrendered to authorities.
The wildest part is that the driver (and van) withstood not one but four Pursuit Intervention Techniques (P.I.T.) maneuvers.
Used to stop folks in a chase, the tailing car pushes the rear side corner of the vehicle ahead. This causes the front vehicle to lose traction and spin 180 degrees. Once facing the wrong direction, most drivers, well, stop.
The suspect doesn’t seem fazed with the first or second P.I.T. attempts. The third sends the Transit spinning into other lanes. Somehow the suspect regained control and kept going. The fourth maneuver heavily damages the front end of the police cruiser while the Transit carries on down the lane. Afterward, the suspect bailed from the van and ran the freeway on foot, where he was eventually taken into custody.
The video really shows the Ford Transit‘s advantages in wheelbase and weight. This makes such attempted maneuvers difficult due to the basic physics of the situation.
NBC Miami reported the incident on December 5th, following up with more details on the 11th. The suspect also has a cocaine charge and allegedly had attempted sexual assault before stealing the delivery van.
Interestingly enough, the same judge presiding over the suspect’s consequent hearing was also highlighted in a viral 2020 segment of A&E Court Cam. In the video, Judge Mindy Glazer recognizes a middle school comrade. She speaks of the defendant’s positive attributes when she knew him years ago. According to comments, the defendant served some time and went on to a successful career and volunteer commitments. Since 2020, the video has been watched over 25 million times.
