CHICAGO (WLS) – The man was apparently seen leading a police chase for more than 70 miles in the Chicago area on Monday and is now in Grundi County Jail.
Police said an ambulance at the Chicago Fire Department was parked in 200 blocks of West Cermak Road in Chinatown around 4:40 p.m. Police said it was taken by a man while she was parked and unattended on the street in front of the fire department.
During the theft, a passer-by stopped and made a double blow while the driver drove off. Authorities said no one was in the ambulance when it was stolen.
The thief fled south by ambulance № 66 on Stevenson Highway, pursued by Illinois police and state police, and eventually on I-55, heading south to the southwestern suburbs.
At one point, officers approached the queue and roared, flattening the rear left tire, but not enough to stop the driver.
Just before 6:20 p.m., somewhere south of Joliet, the ambulance slowed almost to a halt, and the driver seemed to be gesturing and talking to police through the window before suddenly taking off again.
WATCH: The driver of a stolen ambulance waves to the police, seems to be considering stopping
Strips pulled out the ambulance’s rear tire, but the chase continued, with the bare rim smoking at times. By 6:30 p.m., the ambulance had reached nearly 80 miles southwest of the city, near Dwight, where the driver slowed to a stop and exited.
For a moment it seemed that the driver would surrender; he crossed the fence between the highway and the grass with his backpack and got to his knees. There seemed to be an exchange of words with the police, and the suspect suddenly grabbed his backpack and set off on foot, running in the northern lanes of I-55.
WATCH: Driver Arrested for Ambulance Theft Following Police Chase
There he stopped a red truck towing a trailer and tried to enter the passenger door, but failed. He was then confronted by several officers and a K-9 detachment and detained on the side of the highway near the Streator-Kankakee exit.
The suspect was eventually taken away by ambulance and could be seen in the video arriving at Morris Hospital in Grundi County for evaluation.
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He was released from the hospital at about 2 a.m. and taken to the Grand County Jail, Illinois State Police said.
Accusations are pending. Police did not immediately provide any information to identify the man.
Traffic was stopped in both directions on I-55 for some time after his arrest.
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