Truckin'

Just when Houstonist was starting to think think the day's news was all going to be boring, we ran across a story that proved us very, very wrong: the tale of Kenneth Paul Engle III, who took a joy ride in a Pasadena fire truck. No, Engle isn't a firefighter or affiliated with the Pasadena fire department in any way — and what's more, he can't remember anything about driving the truck.

Engle, 28, said he can't remember going to the fire station, climbing into the driver's seat or crashing the truck through the station's garage door. He added that he certainly can't remember driving it down the street.

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But he admits that on Sept. 9, 2005, he barreled down the road in the bright-red, 40,000-pound ladder truck with the fire station's garage door draped over the cab like a blanket. He also admits that a police officer found him clutching the steering wheel as the truck sat at Clear Lake City Boulevard and Space Center Boulevard after a three-mile joy ride.

Fortunately for us, Engle came up with an explanation for his memory lapse:

All he can imagine, Engle said, is that he was drugged hours earlier while drinking at a Montrose-area dance club.

Oh yes, of course. As Engle's attorney described it, Engle and some friends went dancing at South Beach, then went back to the friends' apartment in Friendswood, where Engle said he felt woozy. Engle crashed on the couch for a a few hours, but his friends heard him drive away during the night or in the early morning. A while later, a police officer at a substation next to the fire station heard the truck start and crash through the garage door, which remained stuck to the front of the truck for a while — but even that didn't seem out of the ordinary.

Another Pasadena police officer driving to the substation passed the truck, but he didn't think anything was amiss because he thought the garage door was a protective shield for firefighters, [Harris County prosecutor Dorian] Cotlar said.

Wow, it just gets better! No one's sure how Engel got into the fire station, which is protected by a coded electronic security system, or how he figured out how to start the truck, which uses a series of switches rather than a key. Of course, Engel doesn't know, either. He pleaded guilty yesterday to driving while intoxicated and is expected to plead guilty Feb. 14 to criminal mischief and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, which will carry a combined 360 days in jail, four years' probation and a year-long suspension of his driver's license. Engel also owes the city of Pasadena between $15,000 and $20,000 for damages to the truck and the garage door.

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Photo: Houston Chronicle