A Toledo police cruiser caught fire and was badly damaged Monday night at the scene of a police chase, WTOL reported. Oddly, the cruiser wasn’t even part of the pursuit. Police think the car may have simply malfunctioned.
The chase started earlier that evening in south Toledo. Around 8 p.m., officers tried to make a traffic stop at Harvard Boulevard and the Anthony Wayne Trail, but the driver refused to pull over. Police say he led them on a chase that ended when he hit a pole in an alleyway and took off on foot.
Officers caught up with the driver and arrested him immediately. He was identified as 36-year-old Julian Torres of Adrian, Michigan, and he went with the police without incident. Rescue crews took him to a hospital to be evaluated after police said he had allegedly swallowed illicit drugs.
Back at the scene, a separate police vehicle ended up catching fire. Officers said that car had nothing to do with the chase, however. They tried to put out the flames with fire extinguishers, but it wasn’t enough. That’s when Toledo Fire and Rescue had to finish the job. The cruiser was damaged badly enough that it’s now being pulled out of service for good.
How Does a Police Car Catch Fire on Its Own?
When WTOL asked how the fire happened, a spokesperson for the police said the car “seems to have caught fire on its own,” pointing to a possible mechanical problem. Car fires are actually more common than people think. Most start with an electrical fault or a fuel or fluid leak that finds something hot under the hood, and it’s “flame on” from there.
Police cruisers are especially hard when it comes to wear and tear. They idle for long stretches, run a heavy load of lights, radios, and computers, and get pushed hard during calls when there’s a lot of action going on. All of that wiring and equipment gives a fire more places to start, so it can be difficult to pinpoint a problem, too. A car sitting at a scene can go up in flames seemingly at random.
What Happens to the Driver?
Torres was arrested at the scene and taken to a hospital. Police said he had swallowed illicit drugs at some point during the encounter, which is why rescue crews got involved. Swallowing drugs to hide them is dangerous on its own, since the packaging can break open and cause an overdose.
Charges against Torres hadn’t been spelled out as of the report, though fleeing from police and refusing to stop tend to bring serious ones. The department, meanwhile, is out a cruiser. That one was lost to a fire that had nothing to do with the chase at all.