The forklift used in the incident.

Authorities have arrested operator Don Uzzell, 77, after his forklift suspended a minivan with three occupants up to nine feet (2.7 m) off the ground for almost one hour.

The Cameron County sheriff's department charged Uzzell, a resident of Brownsville, Texas, with two counts of unlawful restraint, two counts of deadly conduct and one count of child endangerment.

Lt Carlos Garza has shared the department findings including details about an altercation, the trapped victims' screaming for help from inside the vehicle and the unorthodox Toyota forklift use.

The 1 June incident report says Erica Molina, 34, drove to a scrap yard to sell some metal, but someone else at the Used Machinery site made a claim on the same material. That unidentified male and Molina's boyfriend, Jesus Mazariegos, 23, engaged in a dispute.

"Uzzell cornered them with a forklift in an attempt to detain them," the sheriff's report says. Uzzell did so by "keeping them there against their will and finally not allowing them to leave after he lifted the (maroon Ford Windstar) van into the air".

.The couple's son, Jesus Mazariegos Jr, 2, was sitting in the rear seat. "Erica stated that because of the van being lifted and remaining in the air, her child was placed in imminent danger of injury or death if the van would fall," the report says.

Instability of the minivan on the forklift tines prompted authorities to use a second forklift to temporarily steady the raised vehicle. A rescue crew from the Brownsville fire department brought the three safely to the ground but not before a local television news crew captured the incident for the station's viewing audience.