A Louisiana man was arrested after allegedly hijacking a construction crane and blocking traffic on an interstate — triggering a series of car crashes that left two people injured and led to a prolonged road closure, according to authorities.
Matthew Vincent, 37, of Vinton, was taken into custody Saturday after police received multiple reports of cars crashing into a work zone around 5:30 a.m. on Interstate 10 near Louisiana Highway 108, Louisiana State Police said in a news release.
When cops arrived, they found the crane sitting in the median with its cables hanging over the westbound lanes. The cables struck a passing vehicle, which led to three more collisions in a wild scene, police said.
No construction was underway at the time of the collisions, and no known crew members were manning the crane when it caused the highway pile-up, according to authorities.
Detectives eventually discovered a Ram pickup truck key fob inside the crane and found a truck matching it in a field south of I-10 near the crash site.
Vincent had driven the truck off the highway into the field before getting stuck, then fled on foot across the interstate and “unlawfully” entered the crane, authorities later determined.
Once inside, Vincent allegedly moved the crane’s boom arm onto the roadway, causing “major damage” to the piece of equipment, obstructing the roadway, and causing a prolonged closure of the interstate, police said in the statement.
The four crashes left two people injured, cops said.
The crane-jacker was located and arrested near the scene, according to police.
Authorities are now investigating whether Vincent had an accomplice for the bumbling act.
“LSP detectives are still investigating this incident and looking into the possibility of an accomplice,” the state police said.
“Anyone who may have been in the area prior to this incident and observed suspicious activity is urged to contact Louisiana State Police detectives,” cops said in a statement.
Vincent was charged with one count of simple burglary, aggravated obstruction of a highway, criminal mischief, and pedestrian on the interstate, and two counts of negligent injuring and five counts of hit-and-run driving, according to police.
He was booked into Calcasieu Correction Center on Saturday morning. His bond has been set to $3,500, according to court records.
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