A man was arrested after running onto the tarmac of a California airport and stealing a vehicle, according to officials.
The 26-year-old from Washington was arrested after the incident at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
The man, who was set to depart on a Delta flight to Seattle on Tuesday, Oct. 6, was accused of stealing a tug used to tow planes at around 5:30 p.m. and driving it around the tarmac, AnnaSophia Servin, the public information officer for the airport, told USA TODAY.
The suspect then crashed it into another vehicle and was arrested by Airport Police Services. He was evaluated at a hospital after the incident.
The man was charged with vehicle theft, trespassing and vandalism,
according to Storyful. USA TODAY is reaching out to the Orange County Sheriff's Office for more details about the charges.
Video taken from behind a window at the airport showed the man reversing the vehicle near a parked plane before continuing to drive it.
See video of man driving vehicle on tarmac
How exactly did this happen?
The man was at the airport and had tickets to board a Delta flight bound for Seattle, according to Servin. He accessed the airfield after breaching a gate at the terminal.
In a statement emailed to USA TODAY, Delta said it does not tolerate any unlawful behavior and that safety and security are its top priority.
The incident did not impact airport operations, according to Servin.
Julia Gomez is a Trending reporter for USA TODAY and covers space phenomena, scientific studies and natural disasters. Connect with her on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wild video shows man steal airport vehicle, drive around tarmac
