A 38-year-old Florida man was arrested after a bizarre string of events that started after he allegedly stole a car and abandoned the vehicle on train tracks. An oncoming train hit the car, sending it flying into a nearby home,according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.
Miraculously no one was injured, police said.
The man, identified as Bradford Weitzel, of Port St. Lucie, was charged with grand theft, and criminal mischief. Additional charges are expected, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Weitzel told police that he somehow ended up on the train tracks along Indian River Drive, according to police. Police said he claimed that the vehicle suddenly stopped dead on the tracks as a train was coming. He then told police that he got out and ran, leaving the car on the tracks, according to the sheriff’s statement.
Police say the man told them that within seconds the train hit the car, hurling it into a nearby home where the homeowners were asleep. The suspect then allegedly told police he continued on to a nearby fruit stand, where he reportedly vandalized the business and tried to steal a forklift.
The suspect told police it was “best to flag down the responding deputies to let them know that he was still looking for his car,” the release said.
The sheriff’s office who shared the story in a Facebook post, started the post by encouraging those to read it for themselves: “No title could explain this case, but the details will… well, it’s best to just read on,” they wrote.
At the end of the post, the sheriff’s office, added: “We told you a title was not possible.”
The sheriff’s department was not the only one surprised by the chain of events, many others responded to the wild story on their social media.
“There’s nothing faster than a forklift as a getaway vehicle,” one person wrote.
Another wrote, in part. “I see a future star role for this guy in, “Dude where’s my car part 2.” Maybe even a remix of Trains House & Automobile. So many possibilities.”
Weitzel is being held at the Martin County Jail, and has no bond at this time, since he violated his bond from a previous DUI misdemeanor charge, according to a clerk at the Martin County Clerk’s office. His next hearing date is Feb. 15 at 8:30 a.m.
Weitzel’s attorney, Alexander Elliott told Digital that “he has no comment at this time.”