Crime

Man who stole a Miami-Dade fire truck sets off three-county highway chase, police say

A man who stole a Miami-Dade fire truck led police on a chase on I-95 and Florida’s turnpike before being stopped at Boynton Beach.
A man who stole a Miami-Dade fire truck led police on a chase on I-95 and Florida’s turnpike before being stopped at Boynton Beach. Miami Herald File

A Miami-Dade fire truck heading north on the highway wasn’t heading to an emergency.

It was the emergency.

Police say the yellow truck was stolen arond 6:30 p.m. Thursday from a training exercise at Northeast 166th Street and Seventh Avenue in North Miami Beach.

The driver hit a parked Opa-locka police car about two miles away, police said, before heading north on Interstate 95. That’s where officers spotted the fire truck and pursued.

The truck then went onto Florida’s Turnpike and continued north through Broward and into Palm Beach County.

Finally, after three counties and several hours, the pursuit ended after 9 p.m., without injury or any crashes.

The chase ended on the side of the turnpike near Boynton Beach Boulevard. Aljenard Lekambrick, 31, was arrested, according to Miami-Dade police.

“The truck was stopped in Palm Beach County on the turnpike and mile marker 86, where the subject was taken into custody by BSO officers without incident,.” Miami-Dade police spokesman Detective Argemis Colome said.

This story was originally published May 19, 2023 at 5:33 AM.

Jeff Kleinman
Miami Herald
Consumer Team Editor Jeff Kleinman oversees coverage for health, shopping, real estate, tourism and recalls/scams/fraud.
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