Woman steals Riverside fire engine while firefighters treat man who stopped breathing

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Authorities say an “extremely intoxicated” woman who stole a City of Riverside Fire Department truck and took it on a short joyride was arrested after crashing into at least two cars early Thursday evening, Oct. 1.

Firefighters were handling a life-threatening medical emergency and helping treat an elderly victim who had stopped breathing when they realized someone had stolen their engine, according to officials; who later reported the woman said she stole the rig, “Because it was fun.”

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Riverside Police and Fire personnel were dispatched to Hole Ave. around 6 p.m., after receiving reports of an elderly man who had stopped breathing, Riverside Police Public Information Officer Ryan Railsback has since said of the theft and woman’s apprehension.

The first officers to arrive at the scene performed CPR and successfully resuscitated the man, according to Railsback.

“They saved the man’s life,” Riverside Police Sgt. Juan Munoz later added.

Using an onboard vehicle tracking system, officials quickly tracked down a Riverside City Fire Department engine that was stolen while firefighters were responding to a life-threatening emergency involving an elderly man who had stopped breathing. KCAL9 News image

When Riverside City Fire Department’s Engine 8 and an AMR ambulance crew arrived they took over the victim’s medical treatment.

According to Railsback, while firefighters were helping to load the victim into a waiting ambulance, the city’s emergency communication’s center received a 911 call from a person who reported “I’m seeing some lady climbing up into a firetruck and stealing it.”

Moments later, when firefighters went to return to their engine, they discovered it was gone; reporting to emergency dispatchers, “We just walked out to the engine and our engine is missing.”

Authorities immediately began tracking the stolen engine using an onboard vehicle tracking system, Riverside City Fire Department Battalion Chief Bruce Vanderhorst later reported.

The tracking system showed that over the next six minutes, the 31-year-old woman drove about three miles, traveling first along La Sierra Ave. and then onto the 91 Freeway, hitting at least two cars along the way, said Railsback.

Both vehicles and the engine sustained minor damage in the collisions, according to Railsback. 

The woman then abandoned the engine on the Adams St. offramp, where she attempted to gain access to several vehicles that had stopped behind or near the stolen rig.

She was apprehended on the offramp and arrested on suspicion of auto theft, hit and run and driving under the influence. The woman also had a felony warrant for narcotics, officials have said.

According to Railsback, she told one of the arresting officers, “She saw it and just decided to try it out.”

The woman’s name was not immediately available because she was taken to an area hospital prior to being booked on multiple charges.

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The engine, which weighs tens of thousands of pounds, was also full of water, making it even heavier and more dangerous to safely operate, according to Vanderhorst.

“Given the potential with the weight of that vehicle and how she even knew how to start it, I’m astonished that nobody else was injured,” said Munoz.

Authorities say the 31-year-old woman, whose name has not been released, told arresting officers she stole the engine because, “She saw it and just decided to try it out … It was fun.” KCAL9 News image

“Her little fun joyride — whatever you want to call it — hopefully, it hasn’t lost anyone any assistance,” he said. “When you do this, you’re depriving the community of a service, even temporarily.”

“It’s a first for us,” Vanderhorst later said; adding, “I’ve never heard anything like it.”


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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, (the now defunct) Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.