PHOTO: A 44-year-old man was arrested after allegedly stealing a fire engine in San Bernardino on Thursday, officials said.
Around 9:45 a.m., the Highland Fire Department reported that their fire engine was stolen in the area of Cooley and Pedley streets in San Bernardino, according to a news release from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
The truck had been momentarily unattended in front of a mechanic shop, while the crew assigned to the engine was not on a call for service, the fire department said.
A man, described at the time only as Hispanic, was seen driving away in the fire engine.
Deputies from the Sheriff’s Department, along with California Highway Patrol officers, searched the area, with a Sheriff’s helicopter overhead.
Around 10:05 a.m., the fire engine was seen exiting the southbound 215 Freeway at University Avenue.
Deputies and officers conducted a felony traffic stop and detained the driver of the fire truck.