Stolen flower truck crashes in front of downtown LR Marriott

Little Rock police respond Friday, Jan. 17, 2013 after a person driving a stolen florist truck purportedly crashed the vehicle in front of the downtown Little Rock Marriott.
Little Rock police respond Friday, Jan. 17, 2013 after a person driving a stolen florist truck purportedly crashed the vehicle in front of the downtown Little Rock Marriott.

A man is in police custody after he purportedly stole a truck and sped through a section of downtown Little Rock before crashing the vehicle in front of a hotel Friday afternoon.

Around 2 p.m., a man jumped into a truck belonging to Frances Flower Shop in front of its location at 1222 W. Capitol Ave. and sped off, according to store owner Betty Anderson. Anderson said the original driver of the truck had returned to the shop to pick up a load of flowers and had left the truck running outside.

After receiving complaints from a neighboring business about the truck driving recklessly through the parking lot, Anderson said store employees notified police.

The ride ended when the man who stole the truck crashed it into a support pillar in front of the downtown Little Rock Marriott, exactly one mile from the shop, Anderson said.

Little Rock Police Department spokesman Lt. Sidney Allen said a man was taken into custody shortly after the crash, but his name wasn't immediately available. It wasn't immediately known whether the man would be charged, Allen said.

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