Man steals fire truck, leads officers on chase through 3 South Florida counties

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A South Florida man is accused of stealing a fire rescue truck on Thursday and leading dozens of law enforcement officers on a three-county chase before he finally surrendered, authorities said.

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Lekambrick Aljenard Hanna, 31, of Miami, was arrested early Friday and was charged with one count of theft of emergency medical equipment, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office online arrest records.

Authorities said that Hanna allegedly stole a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department truck in Opa-locka at about 7 p.m. EDT and drove it north through Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

The pursuit ended when deputies arrested Hanna in Boynton Beach, according to the newspaper.

During Hanna’s first court appearance on Friday, police said the crime was “prime picking” for the suspect since the vehicle was being used in a training exercise, WSVN-TV reported.

Police said that as Hanna fled in the truck, he crashed into an unmarked Opa-locka Police Department cruiser, according to WFOR-TV.

Miami-Dade police officers pursued the truck until reaching the Broward County line. Deputies from Broward County picked up the chase, and yielded to Palm Beach County authorities when the vehicle crossed into Boca Raton, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

The pursuit continued until Hanna surrendered on a northbound lane of Florida’s Turnpike near Boynton Beach Boulevard, according to the newspaper. The chase lasted approximately two hours.

During Friday’s hearing, Hanna raised his hand and told the judge he was authorized to drive a vehicle of that size, WSVN reported.

“I got CDLs, if that counts,” Hanna said, referring to commercial driver’s licenses.

Hanna remains in the Palm Beach County Jail will bail set at $25,000, online records show.

“Question, before I leave, where do you expect me to get $2,500 bucks from?” Hanna asked the judge, referring to the 10% he would be required to post, according to WTVJ.

When the judge said he did not know, Hanna asked, “You don’t care, or you don’t know?”

“I don’t know,” the judge said.