Firefighting inmate steals engine, leaves “half-block of destruction” during escape attempt
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Authorities say a California inmate firefighter left “half a block of destruction” when he stole a firetruck in an apparent Independence Day escape attempt in Shingle Springs in El Dorado County, about 35 miles east of Sacramento, late Sunday evening, July 4.
The inmate, who sustained minor injuries after he was seen crashed into and “ricocheting off” multiple vehicles, trees and a fence before becoming stuck in a ravine, then attempted to carjack another man’s vehicle, according to California’s corrections and firefighting agencies, which jointly oversee the inmate firefighters. That driver successfully fended off the carjacking attempt, but was injured before fleeing the out of control inmate and locking himself in a nearby business.
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The 31-year-old inmate from Orange County, whose name has not been released, was part of an inmate firefighting crew battling a vegetation fire caused by illegal fireworks when he allegedly jumped into and stole a CAL FIRE all-wheel-drive wildland firefighting engine in what California Highway Patrol Sergeant Dave Varao has since described as an escape attempt.
After driving off in the large apparatus, which is designed to carry four firefighters and a wide variety of specialized firefighting equipment, the inmate plowed through a fence onto the nearby Rack-It Truck Racks property. Once inside the fenced-in property, he was seen ramming one of the business’ parked vehicles, a tree and another fence before the rig jumped a curb and became stuck in a ditch, according to Varao.
Firefighters are seen surveying the damage caused to one of their firefighting rigs after an inmate firefighter stole the large all-wheel-drive apparatus and crashed multiple times during an apparent escape attempt late Sunday night. Bill Wilde photo
“Surveillance video from the business showed the firetruck with emergency lights blazing, bouncing through the fence at what appears to be slow speed before circling around inside the property with streams of sparks flying from underneath the vehicle,” AP later reported. “Other vehicles’ emergency lights are visible in the distance.”
“Significant damage was done to the engine as well as private and public property,” the prison and firefighting agencies later said in a statement.
With the engine stuck in the ditch and no longer operable, the inmate ran back to the Rack-It Truck Racks property and attempted to carjack a vehicle from an employee who had been preparing to leave the parking lot when the destructive chaos began, Varao said.
The employee fought the violent inmate, eventually breaking free from the man and running back into the business, where he locked himself inside. The inmate was unable to start the employee’s vehicle and was apprehended by correctional officers and El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies about thirty minutes later.
The employee sustained “very minor injuries” and was treated at the scene by paramedics, but he did not require further medical treatment, according to Varao.
Area resident Bill Wilde, who was watching the vegetation fire to make sure the blaze didn’t spread into his adjacent neighborhood, later said he saw a CAL FIRE fire chief jump into his pickup truck and tear off at high speed after the stolen rig, while the remaining inmates were quickly loaded back into their transport vehicle by correctional officers.
“I called home and told them, ‘Lock the doors, there’s an inmate on the loose,’” he said Monday. He then saw and heard the inmate crash the firetruck through the fence and into the ditch.
Wilde then witnessed the inmate run back into the same area he had just fled from and later said, “He basically made a loop — he didn’t do a very good job getting away.”
The inmate was hospitalized with minor injuries and was in good condition Monday according to officials; who later said the man had been in prison since 2015. But, citing the ongoing investigation, officials would not say what charges the man was serving prison time for, and they declined to provide his name or other details. They also could not say at the time if there have ever been similar previous incidents involving the same subject.
Despite the escape attempt and temporary disruption in firefighting efforts, the wildfire was controlled at about one acre, according to CAL FIRE spokeswoman Diana Swart, spokeswoman.
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Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
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.
Methinks it might not be such a great idea to try to use criminals as firefighters after all even if they certainly are more “expendible” in a bad fire. They will probably always try to escape no matter what.
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