Alright, here we go, time for another edition of car crime. We’ve previously seen a muppet in a BMW M3 wipe out into a traffic stop, a Dollar General Marvin Heemeyer crash a skid steer into a cop car, and hands thrown at a Toyota dealership. Today, let’s watch some dashcam footage of a failed getaway in what local news channel Fox 19 reports was a stolen PT Cruiser.
The chase occurred earlier this month in Franklin, Ohio. Pursuit of a stolen PT Cruiser adds a little levity to things, but it’s still an indictment on the state of a society if someone in it feels the need to (allegedly) steal a PT Cruiser of all things.
You can sense a sort of desperation in the tactics used by the PT Cruiser driver during the pursuit, as every trick in the book is tried to little success. Driving on grass? Check. Cutting through alleyways? Check. Traveling in oncoming lanes? Duh. Do any of these things work? Not really.
Even if a driver is pushing a PT Cruiser as fast as it’ll go, the end result still isn’t that fast. Remember, it’s not outrunning if one unit is glued to the PT Cruiser’s bumper the entire time. So why did this chase last more than 20 minutes? Well, there are at least two good potential answers.
For a substantial stretch of the pursuit, the PT Cruiser is driving primarily on neighborhood streets. Generally, it’s a bad idea to attempt a PIT maneuver if there are houses and driveways in the immediate vicinity. In addition, it’s probably not the best policy to go nuclear right off the rip, so we see the cops waiting for the suspect to make a big mistake before going for the PIT. In this case, the mistake was striking a curb and losing the right front tire.
In the end, police apprehended the suspect while possibly totaling the PT Cruiser due to body damage, and no bystanders seemed to get caught in the chase. At no point was there a substantial likelihood that the PT Cruiser could’ve evaded the pursuing Durangos, no matter what PT Cruiser owners believe on the forums. In Motor Trend testing, a Hemi Durango Pursuit hit zero-to-60 mph in 6.5 seconds. Considering the turbocharged PT Cruiser GT managed a 7.2-second dash in Car And Driver testing, this isn’t even a contest. Anyway, don’t even think about stealing cars, and don’t try to run from the cops in a PT Cruiser. You think this would be common sense, but no. Fuck’s sake.
(Photo credits: Cop Camera USA/YouTube)
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“I PT the foo that tries to take my Cruiser.”
How much you want to bet that these guys had a moment of clarity before they got pitted, realized that they were driving stolen PT Cruiser, and as a result stopped trying quite so hard? You’d have to question your choices at some point.
Really think trying to evade the police is attempted just for car theft. Probably a few other crimes as well. But I have never seen any studies.
Another American moment proudly sponsored by Perdue Pharma.
Perdue: How the fuck are we not all in prison already?
People do not understand just how evil Perdue is.
For anyone who doesn’t get what Ben is talking about, go on YouTube and look up the Last Week Tonight opioid episodes. They’ve done 3 of them. That at least gives you a cliff notes version of what Perdue Pharma and the Sacklers did to this country. Millions of lives have ended or been seriously harmed by their greed and depraved indifference.
I’m not sure what the top speed of a PT Cruiser in any form is, but a police Dodge Durango is limited to 118mph unless a department has modified it.
The Durango still has a 120 MPH advantage over most of the ‘forms’ of PT Cruiser that I see these days.
What if one of those cars on the highway had made an unexpected lane change? The cops were excellent drivers but that could have easily ended in disaster. And for what?
They put a meth head in jail, wrecked someone’s car, and got a great pub story for a couple of cops. I guess one less PT Cruiser might be worth it.
Yeah because methheads driving stolen cars are excellent drivers. You are aware that drivers under the influence kill and injured > 100,000 people a year?
Meth heads are a danger when driving. Certainly that danger is higher when being chased.
And certainly zero when in jail. And before you say it since it was stolen they could not just run the plates and arrest them at home
Of course if they just shot them at the beginning no problem right? But someone would complain police brutality.
Hard to read this article, or any other today, with the video taking over 75% of the screen as soon as I scroll below it.
Meth is a helluva drug.
Other than a propensity for passing on the right, the camera officer was an excellent driver. Very safe and controlled. The lead officer also appeared to do a similar job. Respect.
The video also made me realize that the willingness to drive at excessive speeds on public roads is entirely gone. I eluded once as a pre-licensed teen when I had stolen my mom’s car, but that chase lasted approximately seven seconds because the officer was going the other direction when I passed him at a really stupid speed on a residential street. I turned one corner, then another and pulled into the second driveway (I knew the neighborhood well). I saw him fly past out of the corner of my eye. I sat there shitting my pants for a good bit of time until I slunk back home a few blocks away. Whew!
I’m not sure that managing to get to this age had anything more to with than pure luck, because I sure was not making smart choices. I wasn’t even done yet after that bit of wild good fortune because I kept taking that car until my luck ran out. But that’s a story for an even stupider day.
I wonder what 20 converts to in meth minutes. The amount of tweak that spilled out of that passenger door when they were finally apprehended was mind-smothering. Of course, if they had jumped on the golden opportunity to grab a fresh PT at 10:45, they could’ve gotten another 20 minutes out of this run.
I’ve evaded the cops in an early 90s V6 Thunderbird so it’s doable, just depends on the situation. Pavement, daylight? Nah, just pull over. But out on the dirt roads driving by moonlight the car doesn’t matter, just the nerve of the person behind the wheel. It could slide through turns better than a Crown Vic at least. Got home with the money and the yayo that night, lol. Of course this was twenty years ago, do as I say not what I’ve done, blah blah blah. The standard disclaimer.
Rock bottom?
Trying to evade police in a stolen PT Cruiser.
Found it!
This story will be told (seated in a semicircle) in countless church basement’s.
Hopefully not just to get their court card signed.
Whatcha in for man?
Auto theft
Gotcha, what year Charger did you take?
Yeah, about that…..
More of a PT maneuver, amirite?
Good chase. The cop missed a couple of opportunities to catch some sweet air. Maybe next time.
On the railroad crossing? Yeah!
I was hoping for it there.
Then again, nice to see a LEO using better judgment in the situation than I would in a tax payer funded car.
I could never be a cop (DSMV diagnoses aside).
It’s gotta be the most difficult “customer service” job I can think of.
*costumer service
The PT Cruiser’s trunk isn’t the only thing in this escapade suffering from diminished capacity.
Ah, Franklin. Meth capital of Ohio or fentanyl capital, depending on the day of the week.
Petty Theft Auto
Fun fact: There was once PT Cruiser-branded root beer.
Racing is hard, but it’s so much easier to chase than to evade. And “catch” is just “keep up until they blow it.”
Man, going down for stealing a PT Cruiser in 2024? I hope they grabbed a few other things to pad out the rap sheet for a little more street cred – maybe something like a can of STP and a big jar of cashew nuts, at least
You forgot the Slim Jims, Cheetos and Mountain Dew.
The thief is going to get roasted for this everyday in prison
spit roasted at that
That was one long chase video. But I enjoyed how at ~17:30, the camera interceptor nearly executes a great racing overtake on the other one at the intersection left turn. Looks like he got his turn done first and was ready to blast right though the opening, but let off in deference to his colleague.
LOL going to jail for stealing THAT?
Wait, someone stole a PT Cruiser? Ooooops, my bad, you had idiot in the headline already
First thing I thought.
I guess the cops didn’t shoot because they assumed the driver was a middle aged white divorcee woman.
All the Franklin PD say
They could have had him any day
They only let him slip away
Out of kindness I suppose.
Guessing that neither Pancho nor Leftie would have been as dumb as this guy.
Leftie maybe. Pretty sure he was a narc who sold out his muse.
The coppers really needed that tire net thing as seen on The Autopian.