An hours-long chase with the driver of a stolen Dallas Fire-Rescue ambulance came to an end on Monday afternoon when the ambulance appeared to be trapped and the driver tried to avoid the police on foot.
Dallas Police said the ambulance was taken from Fire Station No. 53 Monday morning and was spotted in southeastern Dallas County in the early afternoon.
The man behind the wheel of the ambulance refused to stop and led police for nearly two hours on a chase that went through Dallas County north to Collin County and through the towns of Plano, McKinney and Princeton.
Sometimes the driver deliberately drove into oncoming vehicles, but no accidents were reported in connection with the chase.
It was back in McKinney where the driver tried again to lose the police, sheriff’s deputies and state forces in a residential area, often off road and across lawns to escape.
The ambulance apparently hit rock bottom and the driver quickly jumped out of the car and tried to evade the police on foot while also trying to keep up his falling pants.
Moments later, the man was cornered in a gated area and taken into custody by several officers near Joyce Way and Tension Lane.
Officers from the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, the Texas State Troopers, and a number of other agencies assisted in ending the chase.
Ambulance chase
- At about 1:10 PM, the chase had begun in southeast Dallas along Interstate 20 near Lawson. The driver was on his way to Kaufman County.
- The ride then reversed at Forney and went back along I-20 to I-635, where it headed north to US 75.
- At around 2:05 PM the driver drove north on US 75 to Plano.
- Just before 2.10 pm the driver left the highway and entered a residential area through back alleys.
- At around 2:11 PM, the driver avoided several Dallas police officers, the Dallas County Sheriff’s deputies and Texas State Troopers who were trying to block the neighborhood’s exit.
- At around 2:18 pm the driver got on Texas 121 in McKinney, but left a little later.
- At about 2:30 PM, the driver drove into oncoming traffic on US Highway 380 near Princeton.
- At 2:37 PM the driver left on US 380 westbound.
- At 2:43 pm, the driver took the ambulance off the road for a moment to avoid nail strips – a retractable device used by police to flatten car tires.
- At 2:55 pm the driver got stuck driving off-road in the ambulance and, while also trying to keep his pants on, tried to escape the officers on foot. Moments later, the driver was taken into custody near Joyce Way and Tension Lane.