Blotter: Deputies pull man from burning truck on Duncan Street

The witnesses flagged down some nearby Denton County sheriff’s deputies, who then approached the vehicle and saw the driver was unconscious. The deputies forced the driver’s side door open and dragged the man out of the truck. He was the only occupant.

When Denton police and fire arrived, they found the front of the truck was fully engulfed in flames. As firefighters extinguished the fire, EMTs transported the driver, who was in critical condition, to a local hospital. The police report states he had a major brain bleed, facial fractures and some abrasions.

From the preliminary crash investigation, the report states police believe the truck was traveling southbound on Duncan Street and failed to negotiate a curve in the road. The report states the truck struck the cement barrier in the curve and bounded back into the street, then caught on fire. It’s possible that speed and impairment were factors in the crash, according to the report.

The last police were updated, the man had undergone surgery for his injuries. His current condition is unknown.

Other reports

2400 block of East McKinney Street — A 33-year-old who was walking in the street at night allegedly signed police paperwork under a false name. Police are applying for felony warrants for tampering with a government record, according to a police report.

At about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, an officer was driving along East McKinney Street and saw three people walking their bikes in the road. The report states the bikes did not have lights on them and the people were walking with traffic instead of against it. There was also a sidewalk along the property they were walking next to, according to the report.

The officer stopped to speak with the group. One of the individuals had left by the time the officer pulled over. A man and a woman were still there, but the woman was not mentioned further in the report.

When the officer asked the man for his identification, the man allegedly refused to identify himself and argued with the officer about the reason for the stop. He continued to be argumentative, according to the report.

The officer wrote that the man had a kitten in his bike basket. The report states the officer thought the man might try to run and they were worried about the kitten getting hurt.

When the officer said they were going to place the man in handcuffs, the report states he jumped off the bike and fled on foot. He didn’t get far before the officer caught up and attempted to arrest him.

The man allegedly began physically resisting arrest. The officer sprayed the man with presidia gel, a spray that temporarily incapacitates a person, similar to pepper spray, and detained him. Once detained, the report states the man declined medical attention and decontamination for the presidia gel.

Animal Services personnel arrived at the scene to take the kitten into their custody.

At the jail, the man refused to identify himself. But he faced charges of pedestrian walking on roadway where sidewalk provided, evading arrest/detention and resisting arrest.

That evening, he allegedly refused to be booked in but provided police with a name. With this name, police found he had a warrant out of the Denton Police Department.

Police were able to use book-in photos and driver’s license photos to find the man’s legal name and date of birth, which the report states were different than what he provided before. After running his legal name, the report states police found he had more warrants for assault by contact and probation violation aggravated assault with a deadly weapon out of Dallas County.

The report states that during the booking process, the man had signed paperwork under the false name. By signing a citation with that name, the report states he made a false statement on three governmental records. Along with the aforementioned charges, police are seeking at-large warrants for tampering with governmental records.

Roundup

From 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. Sunday, the Denton Police Department handled 339 service and officer-initiated calls and made 12 arrests.