Canberra man charged over road scraper joy ride - ABC Online

Updated September 25, 2013 08:57:36

A 23-year-old man will face court today accused of taking a large road scraper for a 20-minute joy ride through Canberra's CBD.

Police allege the Deakin man drove the 30-tonne piece of earth-moving equipment erratically from Majura to Deakin at lunchtime on Tuesday.

The scraper was driven south along Northbourne Avenue, through several red lights and over median strips, before ending up at Deakin High School oval.

Sergeant Jo Van Der Son says damage was caused to the grass sports field.

"It seems he drove onto the oval and decided to make a long jump strip for them," she said.

Sergeant Van Der Son says the driver worked for the company using the equipment at Majura.

"He had access to the keys, he was a driver of the vehicle," she said.

Witnesses have reported the driver was not wearing a shirt and was yelling out from the cabin while driving along.

He was taken to Canberra Hospital for drug and alcohol tests before being sent to a watch house.

The 23-year-old will face the ACT Magistrates Court charged with taking a motor vehicle without consent, reckless and dangerous driving, property damage and possessing a drug of dependence.

Topics: traffic-offences, offbeat, deakin-2600, act, canberra-2600

First posted September 25, 2013 07:56:29