Large dog was used to help steal Caltrans truck in Irvine, police say

A Caltrans worker bolted from the cab of his work truck on Thursday, July 16 when a man tossed a large dog onto the passenger seat of the vehicle and then allegedly stole it.

Irvine police pursued the truck, which crashed at John Wayne Airport.

Caltrans employees were performing electrical work in the parking lot of Boomers! near Harvard Avenue and Michelson Drive at the time of the incident, Caltrans spokeswoman Angela Madison said. One worker was sitting in the truck and became startled when he saw a man standing at the passenger door, Irvine Police Department officials said in a news release. He asked what the suspect was doing, but the man did not reply. Instead, the suspect tossed a young, large-breed dog into the passenger side of the vehicle.

The worker fled the truck, and the suspect hopped into the driver’s seat in his place, police said. He proceeded to drive out of the parking lot, and was briefly pursued by a second Caltrans Employee in another work truck that had been parked next to the stolen vehicle.

Caltrans employees called 911 at about 1:43 p.m. while tailing the suspect, Irvine Police Sgt. Karie Davies said. Officers located the stolen vehicle, and followed it to John Wayne Airport.

The suspect tried to drive into the second floor of a parking structure near JWA’s departure terminals, police said. When the top of the stolen, oversized vehicle collided with the building, the suspect intentionally backed into a police vehicle, authorities said, before continuing the chase.

The man eventually surrendered, and was identified as 31-year-old Erik Baumle by Irvine police. He was taken into custody without incident and uninjured, along with the dog that had frightened the Caltrans worker, Davies said.

“I guess it was a really nice, beautiful dog, but the victim didn’t know that at the time,” Davies said.