California man leads Oregon police on chase in ambulance

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon State Police say they arrested a 30-year-old Winnetka, California, man who led them on a wild chase in a stolen ambulance.

Troopers responded to a single-vehicle crash on Interstate 5 near Portland on Friday night, KPTV reported. The driver started to run, but returned and stole the Woodburn ambulance that had responded.

The driver took the ambulance north into Portland, where police soon started receiving calls about it driving on sidewalks and the wrong way down one-way streets.

Officers tried to pin the ambulance but the driver rammed a cruiser, hit a building and continued driving. Eventually the driver got on I-5 southbound.

Police arrested him after he stopped the ambulance and tried to get into another car on the freeway.

Authorities said he had a blood alcohol content of .21, nearly three times the legal limit.

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This story has been updated to correct the city where the ambulance was from.