Apparatus Thief Chased by TX Police for 90 Minutes

Texas law enforcement was led on a wild chase after an unidentified man stole an Austin Fire Department apparatus and evaded capture for about 90 minutes.

KXAN News reports that the suspect took off in the the Austin FD's Engine 2 on Wednesday night, and a witness said the pursuit along Interstate-35 eventually grew to include 20 or more police vehicles while firefighting equipment began falling from the vehicle.

“There was a ton of debris that came off the truck,” tow truck driver Bryan Gray, who was driving along I-35 at the time, told KXAN. “I’m talking oxygen tanks, I saw fire extinguishers, hoses. Before you knew it, there were 20-30 cruisers chasing behind him.”

Gray told KXAN that law enforcement asked that he stay with them during the chase in case they needed a tow truck at some point.

“I was behind them the entire time,” Gray said.

The chase eventually ended after officers were able to lay spike strips out on the road ahead of the apparatus. Judging by images from the scene, the rig came to a stop only after all the tire rubber had shed away from the rims.

The suspect surrendered to police shortly after the vehicle stopped, and witnesses said they heard non-lethal rounds discharged just before his apprehension.