-- Update 11/22 11:15 a.m. -- According to the Hastings Police Department Daily Incident Report, the suspect is a 15-year old from Glenvil. 

One of the happiest nights of the year in Hastings took a scary turn on Thursday.

As thousands of people visited downtown for the annual Celebration of Lights, just two miles to the north, a 15-year old juvenile from Glenvil used a skid loader to ram into several police vehicles and led authorities on a nearly hour-long chase.

A city news release says police first heard of a skid loader traveling on N Elm Ave. near Parkview Cemetery around 8:00. Officers tried to contact the driver soon after in a nearby neighborhood but the subject started using the loader to ram into patrol cars. The release says the skid loader damaged three occupied police vehicles. One officer shot at the skid loader but didn’t hit the driver.

Video from the scene shows an Adams County Sheriff's truck and a Hastings Police cruiser destroyed.

Yanick Tzan and Valentin Arres were eating at McDonald's on 16th St. and Burlington Ave. and saw the skid loader careen across 16th St. 

"We were standing right outside of the restaurant, and we saw the Bobcat literally take a turn like 20 feet from us," said Arres. "I warned everyone that was outside with me that if he comes our way, we're going back inside, because it was crazy how close he was to us."

The skid loader eventually stopped just northeast of the Casey's convenience store at 16th St. and Burlington Ave., which is just over a mile from where the chase initially started.

Officers used chemical munitions to force the driver out of the skid loader. They arrested the juvenile around 8:50 p.m.

First responders took the suspect to a local hospital for medical clearance and then released the person into police custody. The city is not releasing the suspect’s name because of the person’s age.

There were no significant injuries.

The Nebraska State Patrol is leading the investigation.

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Original Story

HASTINGS, Neb. — A suspect is in custody in Hastings after using a skid steer to ram several law enforcement vehicles.

Police arrested the person shortly before 9:00 on Thursday night. The person drove a Bobcat skid steer and hit Hastings Police and Adams County Sheriff’s vehicles. Details on injuries are unclear, but an ambulance sped away from the scene with its lights and sirens on.

Video shows officers walking a suspect to a police vehicle in handcuffs. Video of the arrest shows about a dozen officers in tactical gear surrounding the Bobcat. The suspect jumped out of the loader and officers arrested the person.

Police responded with their armored vehicle and a K-9 unit to the scene on the east side of Burlington Ave. near the McDonald’s and Casey’s on W 16th St. There remains a police presence on site as of 10:30 p.m.