PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A Florida sheriff's office says a man stole a car but abandoned it seconds before it was struck by a train.
The car was sent flying into a nearby home, but sleeping homeowners inside were unharmed.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said 38-year-old Bradford Weitzel of Port St. Lucie claimed he took the car in a “good faith effort” to search for his own car after leaving a bar early Saturday.
According to the sheriff's office, Weitzel told deputies he somehow ended up on train tracks near Indian River Drive. Deputies say Weitzel claimed as he was on the tracks the stolen car "suddenly stopped dead" just as a train was coming.
Weitzel got out and ran, leaving the car on the tracks, the sheriff's office says.
Seconds later, the train hit the car, "catapulting" it into a nearby home, deputies say.
"Fortunately, they were not physically injured, although the explosive sound of a driverless car smashing into the side of their home was clearly jolting," the sheriff's office wrote on Facebook.
While this was all happening, deputies say Weitzel tried to steal a forklift from a nearby fruit stand, which he also vandalized.
"In the end, Weizel said he thought it was best to flag down the responding deputies to let them know he was still looking for his car," the sheriff's office said.
He was arrested and charged with grand theft and criminal mischief, the agency said. More charges are expected, according to deputies.
"We told you a title was not possible," the sheriff's office said after recounting the arrest.
Claire Farrow contributed to this report.
