When a man stole a truck from a Lower Haight construction site, it seemed like nothing could stop him as he drove into cars, down a one-way street in the wrong direction, and even up on the sidewalk. That man, however, didn't account for the tackling skills of San Francisco firefighter Damian Orduna, who was apparently the only person who could bring the car thief down.
According to San Francisco Police Department spokesperson Officer Gordon Shyy, a 20-something man who has yet to be identified stole an A. Ruiz Construction Company pickup truck from its work site at 55 Laguna Street at Haight Street on Wednesday morning.
According to KTVU, the man nearly ran over one of the construction workers as he fled the scene, inspiring several of the workers to pursue the thief "in other trucks and personal vehicles."
One of those pursuing vehicles attempted to box the stolen truck in at South Van Ness and Market Streets. But it would take more than that to stop this guy! Instead, reports witnesses, the driver threw it into reverse and slammed into a bystanding limo. Watch it for yourself:
"He just slammed right into me and then tried to get away," the limo driver, who was unharmed, told KTVU.
The driver then took the stolen pickup towards the nearby Tower Car Wash, where he drove over the sidewalk, hit some trees, and incompetently slalomed into its lot, where he smashed into an Audi that was getting a wash. The second half of this raw video will tell the tale:
Cops spotted the driver when he then took off headed the wrong way down 11th Street, Shyy says. Police chased the driver to the corner of Polk and Grove, near City Hall. Having caught wind of the rampage, SFFD's Tenderloin Station #3 firefighters gave SFPD a hand, positioning their truck as a barricade to block the driver.
"He was out-of-control and driving pretty crazy. It was clear this guy had to be stopped at some point," firefighter Damien Orduna told ABC7.
Undeterred, the suspect instead jumped out of the stolen vehicle and took off on foot. Orduna gave chase, tackling the suspect near a children's playground.
"I was already on a full run," he Orduna told ABC7. "He was running, it was back to the football days, and he went down and that was the end of that."
"As soon as he goes down, he goes 'I give up,'" Orduna told KTVU.
By 10:30 Wednesday morning, police had taken the suspect into custody, Shyy says. All in all, it's estimated that six or more vehicles were damaged in the incident, but somehow, Shyy says, no one was injured.
The incident is still under investigation, Shyy says, telling SF Weekly that "It's a large crime scene involving three districts, so we're still working to sort all that out."
Shyy says that the suspect should expect charges of hit-and-run, driving a stolen vehicle and reckless driving, at the very least. According to the Examiner, police have yet to determine of the driver was at all influenced by drugs or alcohol during his wild ride.
[KTVU]
[SF Examiner]
[Hoodline]
[ABC7]
[SF Weekly]