Truck theft ends with attempted train escape

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Terre Haute police said it all started with a stolen pickup truck that slammed into the side of a home on the 2900 block of South 13 1/2th Street.

Neighbors said the truck was racing up the street when it pulled a quick U-turn in a yard, then crashed into the side of the home a short distance away.

Neighbors said they are thankful no bystanders were hurt in the crash. A man inside the home in the kitchen was shaken, but uninjured. Kids had been playing in that area just minutes earlier.

The driver jumped out and ran off, chased by for about two blocks by someone in the neighborhood.

Officer John Hopper said the driver tried to jump onto a moving train near 14th and Wheeler and then fell off. He was taken to the hospital with undisclosed injuries.

Witnesses said part of his foot was severed.

It was only later that police found out the truck had been stolen, but are still unsure when it happened.

"We actually had to call the owner," said Hopper. "The owner thought it was still parked in the driveway. He realized now that it wasn't there. We went ahead and took a stolen motor vehicle theft report from him. The investigation is pretty much proceeding from there."

Hopper said the truck had been stolen from a home on the north side of Terre Haute, on the 1900 block of North 23rd street. That's more than 5 miles away from the crash.

Witnesses told News 10 they saw the driver drinking alcohol before the crash. Police say they are looking into that possibility but could not confirm if it was true.

Hopper said there were 3 passengers in the truck, one female and two males. All have been taken to the hospital with various cuts and scrapes.

No names or ages have been released.