Man Steals Edmond Newspaper Van And Leads Police On A Chase

A metro newspaper van was wrecked beyond repair following a chase with police.

Edmond officers say the van belonged to the Edmond Sun and was stolen from a 7-Eleven Wednesday morning.

This newspaper van was left idling outside when a man jumped behind the wheel.

“The driver had just run in to drop the papers and run back out,” said Edmond Police Department PIO Jenny Wagnon.  

The driver immediately called 911.  Officers spotted the stolen vehicle nearby.  

"I've got a white Ford van, and they're going to run from me,” said an Edmond police officer.

Through pouring rain and lightning the chase wound through Edmond, reaching speeds of 75 miles an hour.

The chase came to an abrupt stop a few minutes later.  

"It's crashed out," said an Edmond police officer.

“Ended up losing control and crashing into a duplex, flipping the van onto its side,” said Wagnon.

Despite a gaping hole torn into the side of the home, police say the residents, still asleep inside were not injured.

Police said the driver managed to escape despite an extensive search of the area.

“We were having to knock on a lot of doors early in the morning, kind of wake people up to let them know we were searching in their back yard and make sure they had their doors locked,” said Wagnon.

The van still loaded down with papers was deemed a total loss.

Police are waiting to retrieve surveillance video from 7-11 in hopes of identifying the driver.