Excerpts from qconline.com:

A man was in custody Tuesday, accused of stealing an East Moline fire truck that nearly wound up in the Mississippi River during the incident. 

The theft happened about 4 p.m. when the man took the truck from East Moline as its crew was conducting a building inspection. The man then drove the truck to the intersection of 5th Street and 1st Avenue in Hampton.

The truck went off the road at that intersection and down the embankment toward the river, but did not get submerged in the water. The man then jumped into the river and tried to escape police. With the help of fire department rescue boats, police captured the man nearby. 

Police and fire personnel from East Moline, Moline, and Hampton all took part in dealing with the theft. 

East Moline Fire Chief Rob DeFrance, who was at the scene, said the truck would have to be inspected. The truck was valued about $375,000 when new, and was towed from the scene with no obvious damage to its upper structure other than some dents to the bumper and a metal step along its base.

East Moline has a reserve truck and put it into service once the problem arose. 

The fire truck was not running when it was taken. 

Tags: East Moline Fire Chief Rob DeFrance, East Moline Fire Department, East Moline fire truck stolen, man steals fire truck