Man Leads Police on Cheboygan Tractor Chase

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Many say it was a sight to see last night; a man driving the streets of Cheboygan on a tractor.

Police received several calls about a shirtless man driving his tractor around town, and appeared to be drunk. From there, the man is accused of leading police through the busy streets of Cheboygan. They say he wouldn’t stop.

Jerry Mulka lives in Cheboygan, and watched the chase happen. “He was out in the middle of State Street going down the street driving the tractor like this. Then he turned down Main Street and went back and forth. I saw him probably 4 or 5 times.”

Kurt Jones, Director of Public Safety said, “A local gas station reported he bought a beer and left consuming it and got on the tractor and drove away.”

People in Cheboygan saw the John Deere tractor, and Joshua Viau certainly drew the town’s attention last night. Viau is accused of leading police on a chase that ended up on a side street after he refused to stop. There is a trail of damage left behind.

“His tractor tire came up on the hood of a patrol car and exited and tipped over. He got up and tried to run away and began to run, and officers asked him to stop. At that point he turned to charge the officers and they had to fight with the subject,” said Jones. Jones says Viau had to be pepper sprayed and tased before they could arrest him.

“Just standing up driving down the middle of State in the center lane. I never saw a guy drive a tractor around like that before! Looked like he was having a good time up and down the road,” said Mulka.

That good time has Viau facing four felony charges including assault, running from police, drunk driving and resisting arrest.