APPLETON, Wis. (NBC 26) — A bizarre police chase caused quite a scene this morning in the Fox Valley. Appleton and Grand Chute police say it's a situation they've never dealt with before: a man fleeing police in stolen construction equipment.
"About 20 after 7, I saw the guy coming down the street with a skid steer and I thought it was a city employee scraping the ice on the street," witness Brian Walbrun said.
Then Walbrun says the vehicle came back through the neighborhood again. This time, it was with company.
"I saw the skid steer and then a whole line of cop cars behind him, following him," Walbrun said. "That's when I realized this wasn't a city employee plowing the streets, but somebody running around with a stolen skid steer."
Police say 37-year-old Tyler Peschke stole a skid steer near the Appleton-Grand Chute border. He then led officers on a chase.
Police say 37-year-old Tyler Peschke stole a skid steer near the Appleton-Grand Chute border. He then led officers on a chase.
— Ben Bokun (@ben_bokun) February 25, 2022
Sue Walbrun witnessed the scene from her backyard and snapped this video.
Full story: https://t.co/uIQrpB5lOr pic.twitter.com/HPUtZMRqDZ
"Every time they would have him trapped, he would just turn right at them and they'd back up because he basically has a small tank is what he's got," Walbrun said.
The vehicle left a straight line of track marks after it passed right through Walbrun's back yard.
"He cut between my house and my neighbor's house and went through my backyard kitty-corner and went into the private park we have in the back," he said.
"Definitely a unique start to the morning," Grand Chute Police Public Information Officer Travis Waas said. "And I don't want to say it's something that we train for because you don't train for tracking a skid steer."
"He wasn't panicky in there," Walbrun said. "He didn't care if there was people following him. And he was careful not to hit anything."
When the driver stopped in a nearby field, police say his ride was over.
"The officers that were following closely were able to run up to the skid steer, open the door, remove the driver and take him into custody," Waas said.
Peschke is now confined at the Outagamie County Jail. He faces charges including felony eluding, an OWI fourth offense and two misdemeanors.
"If he was just joyriding, hope he enjoyed it," Walbrun said.
Peschke was also charged with operating a motor vehicle without the owner's consent, and he has additional warrants.
