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Police identify man accused of crashing stolen Atlanta fire truck

By FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Updated  February 21, 2022 9:00am EST
Atlanta
FOX 5 Atlanta

Homeless man tries to steal fire truck

A homeless man tried jumped into an Atlanta fire truck that was out on a gas leak call in the English Avenue neighborhood on Saturday. The man ended up causing a crash.

ATLANTA - Police have named the man accused of jumping inside an emergency vehicle and crashing it on Saturday in Atlanta.

The Atlanta Police Department arrested 26-year-old Curtis Malik Smith. He is charged with theft of a motor vehicle by taking and criminal damage to property over $500. 

A spokesperson for the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department said the man, now identified as Smith, got into a paramedic engine while the emergency crew was responding to a call of a gas leak at around 4:20 p.m. in the English Avenue neighborhood.

Curtis Malik Smith (Fulton County Sheriff's Office)

Investigators determined Smith disengaged the fire engine's brake causing it to roll backward and crash into a parked car in the 700 block of Neal Street near Griffin Street.

Firefighters said the crash was minor and there were no injuries. There was minimal damage to the fire department’s truck.

Officials said after the crash, the man got out of the vehicle and walked west on Neal Street before police apprehended him.

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