Queensland man stops alleged car thief using his forklift
A Queensland man has gone to great lengths to stop an alleged thief from stealing their family car by using a forklift to lift the vehicle with the offender still inside.
Police alleged the 24-year-old woman allegedly broke into the Waterford West residence in Logan, Queensland, last Sunday before attempting to drive off in the red Volkswagen Polo.
Brendan Mills and his family arrived home to find the woman inside his car, but not knowing what was awaiting them he quickly jumped into gear to help protect his family.
"We saw the car door shut on the car, the car started rolling and we thought ‘well, that means someone is in the car who shouldn’t be in the car’," Mr Mills told breakfast show Sunrise from the seat of his forklift.
"I went over, got the key to the forklift and picked the car up. That's all I could think of doing to keep my family safe at the time."
Mr Mills said he didn't know who or what was in the car, but he gave them "plenty of opportunity to get out.".
"They didn’t want to get out, they didn’t want a part of that, so I said ‘well ok, you want to play it that way, I’ve got an alternative option here’."
The Queensland dad told Sunrise hosts David Koch and Natalie Barr, that he works in the automotive trade so he regularly operates a forklift.
And lucky he had one handy on his property at the time of the alleged attempted theft, because it's what helped save his family.
"I don't know if you know about lifting heavy things but forklifts make light lifting, mate," he joked.
Women broke into home first, police say
Queensland Police said they arrived at the scene to see the vehicle still holstered in the air.
"Police attended and observed the woman in the vehicle that was being held up by the forklift," they said in a statement following the incident.
"The car was slowly lowered and police arrested the 24-year-old woman without incident."
A Queensland man has stopped a woman from stealing his car by lifting the vehicle into the air with a forklift while the alleged thief was still behind the wheel 😆 pic.twitter.com/5wjvE7bxzK
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) June 15, 2022
Before jumping in the car, the woman took a shower and changed into clothes belonging to the residents, police claimed.
"Once dressed, she allegedly entered the victim’s Volkswagen Polo and attempted to steal it," the statement said.
The woman was charged with burglary and unlawful use of a motor vehicle. She was granted police bail to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on July 13.
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