Police in North Charleston were pulled into a snail-paced pursuit when a man stole a Komatsu excavator and crept through the city at 3 mph. Sirens blazing, lights flashing, the cruisers had to stop every few minutes so they didn’t pass him.
It started around 3:30 a.m. when officers on an unrelated call spotted a full-size excavator crawling across Highway 78. That might not raise eyebrows in broad daylight—but at that hour? It felt off.
Minutes later, a burglary call came in from nearby. Officers arrived to find damaged buildings and the same excavator rumbling away from the scene. They flipped on their lights, hit the sirens, and told the driver to stop. But he didn’t. So began the slowest police chase of 2025.
The slowest escape in South Carolina history
Several police cars joined the pursuit, but had to constantly brake to avoid overtaking the excavator. Cops broadcast warnings through loudspeakers. They blocked intersections to protect traffic. For 72 surreal minutes, officers followed a hulking, steel-tracked machine through city streets—unable to stop it, and barely able to keep up the illusion of pursuit…