The elderly man used propane tanks and a lighter to keep police at bay, blowing up his car by accident.
A normally quiet Prescott, Arizona neighborhood said their sanctuary sounded like a war zone on February 13 after a 70-year-old man led police officers on a truly wild chase. Officers tried to pull James Crespo over for a traffic stop, and it escalated to a hot pursuit when he fled in his Ford Bronco after police discovered he had several warrants for his arrest.
Crespo reportedly threatened to “blow people up,” prompting several officers to join the chase. The chase pushed Crespo into the quiet suburb, where officers resorted to using spike strips to disable Crespo’s truck.
Surrounded by officers, Crespo rammed his Bronco into a police cruiser and lit a propane tank with a blow torch. As officers approached Crespo, his Bronco exploded, setting the closest police cruiser ablaze.
Crespo managed to crawl out of the flaming Bronco and threatened to blow up another car.
Officers used non-lethal force to subdue him
Despite the plumes of smoke and loud explosions, officers were able to talk him down.
“You don’t want anyone to get hurt, right? I don’t want anyone else to get hurt, too,” an officer was recorded saying through another officer’s body camera, broadcasted by 12 News.
“To keep anyone else from getting hurt, you need to come out here,” the officer continued. “There are children that live in this neighborhood. That fire can hurt them.”
Another officer was able to tase and wrestle him to the ground, and he was airlifted to the hospital to treat his burns.
Viewers were sad to see a vintage Bronco destroyed
While many viewers were just as shocked as the homeowners to see an elderly man use propane tanks to keep officers at bay, many were sad to see Crespo’s Bronco take that kind of damage.
“Poor Bronco!” one viewer wrote. “Heartbroken to see that poor Bronco.”
Another called it an “OG Bronco,” but said Crespo was cowardly.
“People are cowards, they would rather set the place on fire and risk killing people instead of facing the music,” the comment read.
Someone else said the old man spent too much time in front of the TV.
“That guy watched too many movies,” they wrote.
