Man Goes On Wild Ride with Stolen California Fire Engine

John Hayes Waddell Jr. had the ride of a lifetime, and he wasn’t going to give it up easily.

Waddell, a 58-year-old transient who authorities said was behind the wheel of a stolen San Bernardino County Fire Department fire engine, left a trail of mayhem in his wake early Friday before Redlands police finally captured him.

Waddell hit vehicles in three crashes before attempting to ram a patrol car, the Redlands Police Department said.

“He’s crazy. This guy has no regard for anybody,” said Matt Porterfield, an assistant manager at the Circle K at 765 W. Redlands Blvd., after watching the store’s surveillance video that showed the fire engine jumping a curb and striking a customer’s parked car.

The incident began about 4 a.m. when someone stole the engine typically used on brush fires from Redlands Ford, where it was being serviced. Employees there said they do not leave keys with vehicles.

The Fire Department referred all questions to Redlands police, who declined to say how the fire engine could have been stolen.

“We are not required to release details of an investigation, such as how a theft took place,” Redlands spokesman Carl Baker wrote in an email. “In addition, we don’t want to tell others how to steal it.”

Waddell, police said, then drove the truck to a Circle K. Porterfield said the engine entered the parking lot on the north end and struck a black Toyota “at 4:20 on the dot.” The driver of the fire engine gave it some gas to push the Toyota out of the way so the engine could leave the lot on the south end, Porterfield said.

After that hit-and-run was reported to police, another was reported in the parking lot of the Denny’s restaurant at 9 W. Redlands Blvd., a Redlands police news release said. That’s about a half-mile east of the Circle K.

The driver then rammed into a third car about 3 miles west of the Denny’s, at the intersection of Nevada Street and Orange Tree Lane, the release said.

When officers arrived, the fire engine was driven directly at the police car, the release said. The officer was able to maneuver out of the way before pulling over the fire engine and arresting Waddell.

Waddell was booked into West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and possession of stolen property. Bail was set at $50,000.

This appears to be the most trouble Waddell has faced in San Bernardino County. He has a raft of Vehicle Code violations, including too little tire tread, not using his seat belt, failing to maintain headlights, failing to display a license plate, failure to show proof of insurance and failure to register his vehicle.

As for the fire engine, well, it was back Friday afternoon where it started that morning: at Redlands Ford.