Turlock carjacking victim climbs into truck bed and holds on for wild ride
A man determined not to have his utility truck stolen grabbed onto the back of it, climbed into the bed as the thief drove away and held on for a reckless ride over a mile and a half.
The man was unloading a hose from the back of the truck outside a machine shop on Golden State Boulevard at about 8:30 a.m. when the suspect got into the driver’s seat, according to Turlock Police Sgt, Mike Parmley.
As the suspect drove away the victim grabbed onto the bed.
He held on as the suspect headed north on Golden State and right on Marshall Street. A witness there called 911 to report a man hanging off the side of the utility truck.
The second 911 call came from the victim, who’d managed to climb into the truck’s bed, Parmley said.
He banged on the truck’s back window and held on as the suspect swerved all over the road at high speeds, at one point as fast at 50 mph.
After about five minutes and a mile and a half the suspect crashed the utility truck into a parked vehicle at Carrigan Street and Old Vineyard Road, Parmley said.
The suspect got out and ran and the victim, who was not injured, stayed with the truck.
The suspect was found a short time later a few blocks away in an alley just south of Charles Place.
Parmely said he was identified as Job Daniel Garcia, 23, of Livingston and admitted to the theft.
Garcia was arrested on suspicion of carjacking and assault with a deadly weapon.
