Last Friday evening, a stolen ambulance led the Los Angeles Police Department and the California Highway Patrol on a chase that began in the San Fernando Valley and ended in the Antelope Valley. NBC Los Angeles reports the ambulance, originally responding to a call, was taken from the 18400 Block of Lemarsh Street in Northridge. The pursuit commenced shortly after the vehicle was reported stolen at 9:26 p.m.
As the ambulance merged onto the 210 Freeway, with emergency lights on, the chase was closely followed by numerous police cars, according to ABC7. The suspect continued the pursuit northbound on the 14 Freeway, veering into the Agua Dulce area, despite the onset of heavy fog, which hindered visibility, and prompted airships, including AIR7, to abandon their tracking efforts. Part way through the chase, the California Highway Patrol took over the pursuit from the LAPD, employing a spike strip to effectively bring the stolen vehicle to a stop.
The California Highway Patrol was successful in taking the suspect into custody after the use of the spike strip, which disabled the ambulance in the Palmdale area. CBS Los Angeles noted that CBS LA also turned around before the conclusion of the pursuit due to the challenging low visibility conditions caused by the fog.
There were no injuries reported as a result of the chase, and authorities confirmed that no one was inside the ambulance except for the suspect during the incident. Details on how the ambulance was stolen remain unclear, with neither the Los Angeles Fire Department nor the LAPD providing specifics at the time of reporting.
