‘Joyriding’ teen crashes forklift into New Lebanon building

NEW LEBANON — A 15-year-old could face criminal charges after “joyriding” on a forklift and hitting a building in New Lebanon.

New Lebanon police responded to reports of a forklift hitting a building on W. Main Street on Saturday.

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Witnesses reported seeing “suspicious behavior” from a person operating the forklift. When they began to investigate, witnesses found that the forklift hit the building, prompting an unidentified person to run from the scene into the nearby woods.

When officers and the fire department arrived on the scene, they assessed the building for any structural damage.

Not long after that, officers noticed a 15-year-old boy emerging from the woods behind the business. The teen admitted to officers that he drank alcohol earlier in the day and “found forklift keys in the ignition.”

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“Attempting to operate one unsuccessfully, he then managed to somewhat operate a second forklift. Losing control, he unintentionally struck the side of the building and fled behind the business,” police wrote in a release.

Officers said there’s no current indication that he intended to break into the building and wasn’t doing anything “beyond what could be described as ‘joyriding.’”

The incident remains under investigation and criminal charges are pending, subject to review by the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office Juvenile Division.

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