Teen Jumps on Back of Rincon Valley Fire Engine

A young man jumped on the back of a fire engine heading onto Highway 101 for a brief joyride Tuesday morning, shocking Rincon Valley firefighters who didn't know they had an extra passenger until warned by a frantic passing driver.

"We pulled over quickly, ran back there and sure enough here's this goofball standing on our tail board, laughing like it's no big deal," said stunned fire Capt. Mark Dunn.

The 19-year-old, Jesus Christian Alvarez, was apparently thrilled with himself.

"He said, 'That was so cool, it was so James Bond,'" said Dunn.

The firefighter crew, however, was hot.

"I've never heard of this in my 21 years. I had to get my wits about me," said Dunn, as he attempted to deal with the very odd situation.

"I gave him a lecture: 'You understand what kind of trouble you're in?'" Dunn said he asked Alvarez.

"I don't think this guy realized how serious this was," said Dunn.

The joyride derailed the crew's attempt to get to an emergency call in Santa Rosa, where they were dispatched to help a woman who was unconscious on a street. Santa Rosa firefighters also responded to the call.

Alvarez also could have fallen off the back of the fire engine onto the highway and been seriously hurt or killed.

Alvarez told firefighters he couldn't resist when he saw them run out of Trader Joe's and jump into their engine.

The three-man crew had been doing their standard food shopping at the Santa Rosa Marketplace grocery store on Santa Rosa Avenue at about 11 a.m. when they got the call to help the unconscious woman.

"All of the employees are used to us just running out," said Dunn.

The firemen jumped into their truck and headed out of the parking lot.

Alvarez told the firefighters he thought it would be super cool to join them.

Dunn estimated dozens of people must have seen the kid on the truck as they left the crowded shopping center.

And the veteran fire captain said he doubted if Alvarez knew his ride would include hanging onto the back of the engine as it sped onto the highway.

Just as the engine was entering the highway at Baker Avenue, a driver, waving his arms, began trying to get the attention of firefighters.

"A guy came up alongside of us in his truck, going crazy," said Dunn.

People often wave to passing firetrucks, but this driver was yelling, had swerved in close and leaned over to roll down his passenger side window.

"We thought, 'This guy's crazy.' He's screaming 'Hey somebody's riding on the back of your engine,'" recounted Dunn.

"We looked at each other thinking 'This guy's gotta be messing with us,'" he said.

Not able to take the chance, they pulled over near the downtown Santa Rosa exit.

And they found Alvarez, wearing shorts and sandals, still with his iPod headphones on. He was laughing and couldn't get over what fun he'd had.

Firefighters called the CHP and officers determined Alvarez was sober. He was arrested on suspicion of interfering with the lawful duties of a fireman, a misdemeanor, and riding on the outside of a vehicle, a vehicle code violation.

Dunn said the situation was a tough one for firefighters. "Our job, we want to help people. We don't want to see him have a criminal record."

"But he's going to have to learn," said Dunn.

The firefighters then returned to their shopping cart at Trader Joe's.

Employees welcomed them back.

"They were all asking,'What happened with the guy on the back of the truck?'" said Dunn.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service