BEAUMONT, Texas-- It looked like Grand Theft Auto in Beaumont when a young man stole a city fire truck and crashed it early Tuesday morning.
The theft took place around 1 a.m. while Beaumont firefighters were on the scene of a small fire at an apartment complex on Calder Avenue.
They say that's when the thief walked up, jumped in the fire truck, backed it up into a building at the complex and took off.
He didn't get far.
Investigators tell KBTV the suspect took a corner too fast near Calder and Laurel and flipped the truck on its side behind the Fat Mac's restaurant.
Witnesses say they saw the man crawl out of Quint 9 and run behind a gas station and into a nearby neighborhood. Those living in this area say officers found the man hiding in a garage and he was taken into custody.
Beaumont Fire Chief Mickey Bertrand said the young man, in his early 20s, was taken to a Beaumont hospital for head injuries. His identity and motive for the theft was unknown at the scene of the crash but investigators say the man must have known something about fire trucks.
"He had to have known how to release the air brakes on the truck and know something about how to drive a fire engine," said Chief Bertrand who was notified of the crash while sleeping at home this morning.
Quint 9 is the most expensive piece of equipment owned by the Beaumont Fire Department. Its value is around $650,000. Chief Bertrand said the truck will be sent off to be inspected to determine if it is repairable or will have to be replaced.
This is also the final day on the job for Chief Bertrand.
He said he planned to spend most of the day cleaning out his office and doing exit interviews and never imagined this is how he'd wrap up his career
Bertrand announced his retirement in September.
He's been the chief for over a decade and has worked for the Beaumont Fire Department for over 30 years.
Republished with permission of KBTV.
