Oklahoma City fire department installing kill switches in all vehicles after fire truck stolen, US
A Mustang Fire Department fire truck was stolen Friday night, 20 January 2023, by a thief who led police on a 17-mile chase to Oklahoma City in the US. The department’s squad had just completed a medical call and fire fighters were ready to head back to the station when someone jumped into the vehicle and fled.
Mustang Police said at around 2h30, fire fighters were responding to a call near Southwest 59th Street and North Czech Hall Road. Police said a man in a black vehicle pulled up and jumped in the fire vehicle before leaving the scene. Police said they pursued the vehicle to the Tower Theater in Oklahoma City. The man was then taken into custody before they were able to enter the building.
The suspect, Daniel Justin Snyder, is in jail on a $71 000 bond on charges of larceny of a motor vehicle, endangering others while eluding police, possession of controlled dangerous substances and interfering with firemen on duty.
Craig Carruth, the Mustang fire chief, said no one is prepared for something like that. "Obviously in shock for sure. When you see something like that, you think, 'is this real?' And then it hits you, ‘yes, it’s real,’ and what’s next? They notified who they needed to notify and get the person stopped as soon as possible," Chief Carruth said.
The fire chief said the truck holds advanced life support equipment and would be detrimental to the community if anything were to happen to the vehicle.
Chief Carruth says that the department will install kill switches in all its vehicles to prevent further incidents.