LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Las Vegas police are searching for a man who stole a flatbed truck from a construction zone and took it for a joyride Sunday morning.
The suspect was caught on the truck’s camera system which recorded him speeding and stealing the driver’s backpack before ditching the truck.
Jose Ferrero has seen a lot in the past three months working for traffic control company Masters of Barricades but this was a first.
“I was opening everything up and walking back to my truck when I noticed the truck pulling away,” Ferrero said.
Around 6:30 a.m. Ferrero’s work truck was parked inside a construction zone along Charleston Boulevard and Durango Drive when the thief decided to hop in and take off.
“When I first saw the truck moving I thought it was a dream, and I thought I was going crazy. As soon as he ran the red light I started freaking out a little bit,” Ferrero said.
The video shows the man quickly accelerating and running a red light - reaching speeds of nearly 60 mph - heading east on Charleston.
The truck was eventually recovered but a backpack remains missing.
Ferrero told 13 Action News that it's a small price to pay, as he may have been hurt in the incident, not knowing what intentions the man really had.
"It felt kind of unrealistic and it's hard to think of hopping in a truck, especially a truck this size, and just driving away in it,” Ferrero said.
Police described the suspect as a man in his 30s, approximately 5-foot 9-inches tall and weighing about 190 pounds.
