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Marina Fire Chief Doug McCoun was carjacked Friday night following a crash on Highway 156 in Prunedale, the chief told Action News 8.
The chief was driving his marked fire department SUV when he came across a crash involving an Aston Martin, a U-Haul and at least five other vehicles, authorities said.
It happened just before 9 p.m. Friday on Highway 156 and Meridian Road.
McCoun said he turned on his emergency lights and called in to report the crash. That’s the moment he said a man he thought needed help approached him and “unbuckled me and pulled me out of the car.”
The California Highway Patrol later identified the man as 43-year-old Kevin Peck of Sacramento.
Investigators said Peck drove off in the chief’s Ford Expedition which was clearly marked with Marina Fire Department decals.
“I just didn’t get it. I didn’t think it was going to really be happening,” McCoun said. “It took me a long time until I was actually coming out of the car and we’re on the ground wrestling that I realized that it was happening.”
According to the highway patrol, Peck stole the Aston Martin involved in the crash from a home in Carmel.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said deputies recovered the stolen Marina fire vehicle in the Carmel Highlands Saturday morning.
They responded to the area after a resident reported seeing a shirtless man, who deputies later identified as Peck, inside her home.
Peck was arrested and booked into the Monterey County Jail.