Stolen excavator recovered after truck hauling machine hits I-94 overpass in Detroit

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A driver hauling a stolen excavator on a flatbed left the machine behind on I-94 in Detroit after hitting an overpass and knocking the equipment off Sunday morning.

According to Michigan State Police, calls were received around 9:50 a.m. about a semi that had hit an overpass on the westbound side of the freeway at Frontenac Avenue. When troopers arrived, they discovered a CAT excavator on its side in the road leaking fuel and hydraulic fluid. Damage to the overpass was only superficial, and the road was reopened after cleanup.

The excavator had recently been stolen from a worksite on Seneca Street, and the owner had gone to a Detroit Police Department precinct to report it as stolen.

Police said the driver of the truck that was hauling the stolen excavator fled the scene and could not be located.