An electric Amazon delivery truck, made by Rivian, is parked during a delivery. An Amazon delivery driver was dropping off packages on Feb 18 when he saw a man jump into his truck, police said. — AP
A man is accused of jumping into an unoccupied Amazon delivery truck in Florida and taking it on a 20-mile joyride while “nodding off” at the wheel.
An Amazon delivery driver was dropping off packages on Feb 18 when he noticed a man walk up to his truck while he was at a home’s door, according to an arrest affidavit from the Ormond Beach Police Department.
The man, a 35-year-old Iowa resident, jumped into the truck, police said, and the driver ran back to stop him.
The driver tried to get the man out of the truck, according to the affidavit, but wasn’t able to stop him as the man pulled away.
As the man drove off, the Amazon driver’s manager was tracking the truck and looked at the internal surveillance camera, police said.
The manager called police when he saw the man “nodding off” at the wheel while going 70 mph on State Road 40, the affidavit said.
The man kept driving for 20 miles before police surrounded him a Circle K gas station, according to the affidavit.
In a video shared by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office on Facebook, deputies and officers approached the truck as the man kneeled on the ground with his hands on his head.
“Is your Amazon package late?” the sheriff’s office said in the post.
The man was taken into custody, police said, and officers found 17 grams of methamphetamine in a Crown Royal bag and a bag of marijuana in his possession, according to the affidavit.
He apologised for stealing the truck, police said, adding that he was lost in the neighbourhood and thought the only way out was to take the vehicle.
The Amazon manager came to the gas station and recovered the truck, and all packages were accounted for, police said.
In the patrol car, the man said he was dehydrated and paramedics took him to the hospital for treatment before he was transferred to jail, police said.
The man was charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle, trafficking methamphetamine and marijuana possession, according to arrest documents.
Ormond Beach is about 85 miles south of Jacksonville. – The Charlotte Observer/Tribune News Service
