A man was arrested on suspicion of stealing a fire truck and taking it on a wild pursuit through several cities before being detained in Anaheim Tuesday.
Truck 85, a half a million dollar truck, was stolen from UCI Medical Center in Orange at 1:40 a.m. as paramedics were taking a patient to the hospital, said Capt. Greg Barta of the Orange County Fire Authority.
"As they were dropping off a patient at the hospital the truck was stolen," Barta told City News Service.
The driver traveled through many Orange County communities, including Fountain Valley and Irvine, before finally stopping in Anaheim near Ball Road and Brookhurst Street.
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An hour later the driver finally stopped in Anaheim where a man walked up to the window as if to say “don’t go any further.”
Richard Lynn Wilson, who said he lives on the sidewalk nearby, said he put himself in the middle of the chaos on purpose.
"I just did not want the kid to get shot," he said,
The driver was taken into custody. He has not been named. But firefighters suspect he has some truck driving abilities.
"This isn’t driving a Ford F150, a car, a mini van -- it's a massive different driving radius. It takes a lot to move a vehicle that big," Barta said.
Anaheim officers took the driver into custody at about 3 a.m.
The truck was damaged in the chase.
