TORONTO -- Police in Durham Region have released surveillance video of a man who they say lit a tow truck on fire early Friday morning.
In a news release, police said they received a report of a vehicle fire on Gamble Drive in Ajax, Ont. at approximately 6:50 a.m.
When officers arrived on scene, they said they found a Chevrolet tow truck “fully engulfed in flames.”
Firefighters were able to put the fire out and there were no injures reported, police said.
Surveillance video of the incident posted by police appears to show the suspect dousing the vehicle with an unknown substance, igniting the flame and then fleeing the scene.
Officers spotted the suspect vehicle driving near the scene and attempted to pull it over, according to police. The suspect failed to stop and drove off at a high rate of speed.
The vehicle is described by police as a red/orange SUV and was last seen in the area of Harwood Avenue and Kingston Road in Ajax.
Police are treating the incident as an arson and are asking anyone with information relating to the investigation to contact Det. Hawkes of the West Division Criminal Investigations Bureau at 1-888-579-1520 ext. 2528.
Anonymous tips can also be made through Durham Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 and tipsters may be eligible for a $2,000 cash reward, police said.
Tow truck fires in the Greater Toronto Area have become more common over the last several months. In fact, six tow trucks were set on fire over several days in Toronto and York Region in early December.
In May of last year, Toronto-area police laid nearly 200 charges, including first-degree murder, against members of “several organized crime groups working within the towing industry.”
