WINDSOR, Mo. — It was a Windsor, Missouri, Hound takeover on homecoming night on Friday — the small town came to cheer on their pride and joy.
The street was dotted with locals, floats crammed with student-athletes, cheerleaders and band members that walked down Main Street, USA.
“Windsor has a tradition of having parades for almost anything,” said Daniel Lemoine, who was at the parade to cheer on his grandson.
But there’s one thing missing from their parade lineup — Windsor’s Four County Rural Fire pumper.
“Quite the surprise for everybody,” Lemonie said. “It’s kind of a sad event; we are a small community and really depend on the fire department — it’s kind of sad that happened.”
On Wednesday morning, a woman identified as 20-yea-old Jade Gibbs, allegedly stole the pumper and drove it into a garage door.
Windsor Four County Rural Fire Chief Larry White said incidents like these usually don't happen in the small town.
“It’s a little down in the dumps about it,” White said. "We’ve never had an incident like this before."
White described the damage left by the woman's crimes.
“We had the door scattered out on the driveway,” White said. “She just drove through the door.”
Scraps of the metal garage door was all that was left when Gibbs drove through the fire department's bay door.
Anthony Cole was on his way to work Wednesday morning when the stolen truck caught his eye.
“The rubber was hanging off the tire,” he said. “I pulled up behind them to see if they needed help with the tire.”
Cole quickly realized it was stolen when the truck crashed through trees, bushes and yards near a school.
Cole tried repeatedly to stop Gibbs, even jumping on the fire truck. He also called Henry County Sheriff’s Office.
“I just got in there and pushed her out, turned it off, got the air brake pulled,” Cole said.
Even down their personal pumper truck, knowing everyone was okay, the parade went on with a loaner.
“Anybody in a small town would do it if somebody’s heading for the school,” Cole said.
Windsor was granted a loaner fire truck, so there’s no lapse in service during the repair process.
“I’m thinking we can get it fixed,” White said.
Gibbs was charged with a number of crimes after she was caught including burglary, felony stealing, property damage and resisting arrest. Her bond is set at $100,000.
The fire chief will tell you it’s their newest truck, with one payment left to go.
“It only had 4,000 miles on it,” he said. “We had one more payment before we got it paid for.”
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