PORT ROYAL, S.C. (AP) — A naked man stole a fire truck at a South Carolina apartment complex and sped away, killing a pedestrian who was walking on a sidewalk, authorities said Saturday.
The fire engine driver, identified as 26-year-old Kalvin Hunt, drove about two miles Friday before he hit a man, careened off the road and crashed into some trees, authorities said. Hunt, who was pinned inside the fire truck, was freed by rescue workers, and then started assaulting two police officers, deputy police chief Dale McDorman told The Beaufort Gazette.
Brana Rogerson said she narrowly avoided a collision with the stolen engine, which plowed into six or seven other vehicles as it barreled through an intersection in Beaufort, which is located along the southeast coast of South Carolina.
“I’ve never seen a fire truck come out of nowhere like that,” Rogerson said. “The truck didn’t have its lights on. I knew it wasn’t a fireman behind the wheel.”
Justin Miller, 28, of Port Royal, was killed when he was hit as he walked with his brother, Beaufort County Coroner Ed Allen said Saturday. Firefighters with the Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department had responded to the apartments for a rescue call, Allen said.
Hunt had not been charged Saturday in Miller’s death, said Lance Cpl. Judd Jones of the South Carolina Highway Patrol, which is investigating the fatality. Hunt is from Sumter, which is in the central part of the state.
Hunt, who did not have a telephone number listed, was taken to Beaufort Memorial Hospital with injuries. The hospital did not have him listed as a patient Saturday.
A Beaufort police spokeswoman told The Associated Press no one was available Saturday to talk about the crash.
