A gravel thief or thieves dealt thousands of dollars worth of damage to a county dump truck and construction company's excavator over the weekend, according to a Douglas County Sheriff's Department report.
Sgt. Al Peterson of the sheriff's department was called to the county gravel pit on Staupe Road in Summit about 6:30 a.m. Monday. A large John Deere excavator owned by Mathy Construction Company had apparently been used to load gravel onto the bed of a pickup truck over the weekend, he reported. In the process of moving the excavator, the thief or thieves had smashed into the dump truck.
Douglas County Highway Commissioner Paul Halverson called the damage done to the dump truck "significant." The windshield, hood and right front fender were crushed. While the engine appears OK, he said, many of the components on it, such as the turbocharger, were smashed. He couldn't give a damage estimate, but the report indicates it could cost the county several thousand dollars.
The excavator's cat walks, engine covers and counterweight were damaged. Damage was estimated at more than $1,000 for the piece of machinery.
Peterson noted that the bucket of the excavator appeared to have dropped more sand in the thief's truck box than it could hold.
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"It was apparent that the smaller truck's box was overfilled as there was spillage from three sides," he noted in the report.
Halverson said the excavator was started with a key that had been hidden on the piece of equipment. The last time the equipment had been used by the highway department was Friday, according to the report.
