Police arrested a 38-year-old California man after he allegedly crushed a car with a tractor, with someone still inside it, after an argument this weekend.
Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call in the 1700-block of Sinton Road in Santa Maria on Saturday at around 12:03 am regarding a report of a suspect driving a front loader tractor onto an occupied vehicle.
When deputies arrived, they found a severely damaged Hyundai Tiburon. The suspect, from Paso Robles, allegedly rammed the vehicle several times with a tractor while an adult female passenger was inside. Before he used the bucket to further damage the car, the passenger was fortunately able to flee without suffering any significant injuries.
Photos reveal how much damage the large tractor did to the car
According to photos released by the Sheriff’s Office, the sedan had significant damage, including a smashed hood and headlights, a shattered rear window, damage along the passenger-side door, and a very beat-up trunk.
According to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, the man allegedly used the front loader to destroy the victims’ vehicle following a dispute. The authorities did not reveal the cause of the quarrel that led up to the incident.
Deputies spoke with him while he was still in the tractor, which looks to be a Caterpillar 938 wheel loader, and took him into custody without issue. A Caterpillar 938 wheel loader has a list price of over $328,000 and weighs over 35,000 pounds. A Hyundai Tiburon weighs between 2,550 and 3,075 pounds.
Officers arrested the man and booked him into the Northern Branch Jail on felony charges of vandalism and assault with a deadly weapon. Authorities also arrested him on a San Luis Obispo County no-bail warrant. He was being held without bail.
