CLOVIS – A man trying to escape arrest over the weekend stole a police van and then crashed it while trying to drive away.
Donald Walker, 32, was in a police van waiting to go to Fresno County Jail on Saturday night. He had been arrested on suspicion of burglarizing a vehicle in the 100 block of Ashlan Avenue.
As the officers were handling other suspects, Walker was able to move his handcuffed hands to enable him to break the lock on the partition that separated male and female prisoners. Walker got out of the van to raise up the roll-up door to the booking area, and then he got in the van and drove, all while handcuffed, authorities said.
Officers were nearly hit as they tried to stop Walker before he smashed through the exterior iron gate on Fifth Street in Clovis. Walker crashed the van several times before finally wrecking it in a field. Thanks to air support and canine units from other local law enforcement agencies, Walker was found in the 9700 block of Ashlan Avenue and arrested, authorities said.
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