San Francisco firefighter helps catch carjacking suspect

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A violent carjacker is under arrest after a wild chase and dangerous rampage that was caught on camera. It could have been much worse if a brave man hadn't taken matters into his own hands.

Police have not released the suspect's name, but a firefighter is getting most of the credit for the carjackers' arrest.

The security camera at a Honda dealership caught some of the rampage that happened Wednesday. The video shows panicked drivers on Market Street trying to get out of the way of a desperate carjacking suspect in a stolen truck, on the run from police. The truck then appears on the video, barrels backwards into a limousine, and the suspect then takes off in the truck over the sidewalk.

The limo driver wasn't hurt, but the entire front of the limo was smashed up.

San Francisco firefighter Damien Orduna said, "He was out-of-control and driving pretty crazy. It was clear this guy had to be stopped at some point."

Orduna saw the chaos when he was returning from a call on a Station 3 ladder truck. His crew stopped to help police who tried to corner the suspect.

San Francisco Police Lt. Jennifer Jackson said, "He stopped the truck at Polk and Grove, he jumped out, he ran eastbound here on Grove."

Orduna said, "By the time turned around to see me, it was a little too late."

From out of nowhere, Orduna intercepted the suspect. He said, "I just tackled him. I was already on a full run, he was running, it was back to the football days, and he went down and that was the end of that."

The suspect was arrested charged with stealing the truck from a construction site and hitting six cars during his wild ride. Police have a firefighter to thank for the take-down.

"It was easy, nobody got hurt, and glad he's off the streets," Orduna said.