N.C. Man Steals, Crashes Pittsburgh Airport Authority Truck

A North Carolina man was arrested after stealing and crashing a Allegheny County Airport Authority truck at Pittsburgh International Airport.

Harry Griffith, 35, of Southern Pines, was charged with DUI, theft, ethnic intimidation and other charges in relation to the crash, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Authorities said Griffith stole the truck and drove it through the glass doors of the landside terminal's moving walkway and into a concrete pillar. Officers responded to the scene and found Griffith, who was injured in the crash, hiding behind the Hyatt Hotel.

Police also said Griffith, who is white, used a racial slur while speaking to someone in the airport parking lot

“It was learned that the Airport Authority employee had parked his vehicle to collect trash from receptacles near the building," a Pittsburgh International Airport spokesperson told WPXI. "After he had exited and began gathering the trash, he heard the vehicle and turned to see it being driven into the building. The driver then jumped out of the vehicle and ran and was followed by the airport employee.”

Griffith was transported to a local hospital for treatment for his injuries and will be formally charged upon his release, Allegheny County Police confirmed to WPXI.

Griffith was arraigned on Saturday (May 1) and released on nonmonetary bail.

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