A USPS Mail Truck Might Be The Worst Getaway Car But Someone Went For It Anyway

In the list of ideal vehicles to flee from the police, a USPS mail truck ranks very low. The Grumman LLV may be a legendary workhorse of the postal service, but it’s heavy, slow, and not exactly known for its handling prowess, either. And yet, that didn’t stop one bold individual from trying anyway.

As reported by Fox13, someone was sentenced to 30 months in prison for allegedly stealing a mail truck at knifepoint and leading police on a dangerous chase through Utah before being taken into custody.

As posted to TikTok, footage captured on the ground shows just how chaotic the chase became. We see the Grumman LLV fleeing from multiple police cruisers through an industrial area, before being boxed in at the end of the carpark. The LLV then rams police cruisers, and the sound of Tasers firing can be heard before the video cuts off.

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According to authorities, the alleged mail truck thief had threatened a postal employee with a knife in order to gain access to the Grumman LLV. Behind the wheel, it’s alleged he was then involved in hit-and-run and near-miss incidents. Using GPS to track the vehicle, police indicated they eventually tracked the truck down to a dead end in Centerville, and that Hernandez attempted to flee.

In footage shared by On Patrol: Live, it’s possible to see where the rogue mail truck was eventually brought to a final halt near 500 West Porter Lane, Centerville. Reports state the driver barricaded himself inside the mail truck while officers fired multiple “less-lethal” weapons at the vehicle. The driver eventually surrendered, and was subsequently taken into custody.

Thankfully, the postal worker whose truck was involved in this incident was unharmed. “Unfortunately, our employee experienced a challenging situation today. Thankfully the employee is safe,” stated USPS spokesperson Rod Spurgeon, at the time of the incident. “During this sensitive time, our primary focus is on offering support to our employee. We are also providing counseling and assistance to help them navigate through this experience.”

It’s little surprise the chase ended the way it did. A Grumman LLV might only weigh 1,225 kg unloaded, but it’s geared for work, not performance, and comes with a maximum of 120 hp on tap when new thanks to a rather weak Iron Duke 2.2-liter four-cylinder, which is attached to a three-speed slushbox. These vehicles are ponderous sheds-on-wheels, and have a fraction of the speed and agility of even the most cumbersome police cruisers. If anything, it’s perhaps surprising the chase went on as long as it did. Per the Fox13 report from immediately after the incident, police were first called shortly before 1 PM but the chase didn’t come to a close until almost an hour and a half later.

There’s no word on what became of the mail truck in question after the incident. The Autopian has contacted the USPS’s Utah desk to ask about the fate of the truck and for any other comment; here’s their response:

Fortunately, our employee was unharmed and returned to duty. Both the delivery vehicle and its contents were recovered.

Ultimately, police chases never start well and never end well. If you get in something slow, heavy, and full of mail, you can’t expect to make a dashing escape from anywhere. Besides, even the fastest mail trucks can’t outrun a radio. Unless you’ve got some kind of 2 Fast 2 Furious thing going where you’re going to escape into a flood of lookalike mail vans all pouring out of a warehouse, you’re probably not going to get away. Best leave the Grummans to their work and make your escape another way.