By Mike Stunson
The Charlotte Observer
CHICAGO — A 46-year-old man is accused of stealing an ambulance from a Chicago fire station before leading police on a 75-mile chase, according to Illinois State Police.
Benjamin K. Herrington stole the Chicago Fire Department ambulance from the Chinatown station around 4:40 p.m. on Monday, April 25, according to WFLD. Police chased after the driver, who blew out a tire around Joilet, 45 miles southwest of the fire station, the TV station reported.
He continued driving it to the 217-mile marker of Interstate 55 near the rural town of Dwight, where he pulled the ambulance to the side of the road at 6:30 p.m., state police said. Aerial footage by WBBM-TV shows the driver getting out of the ambulance, putting his hands above his head and getting on his knees.
But as troopers approached the suspect, he got back on his feet and began running across the northbound lanes of the interstate. He tried stopping the driver of a pickup truck as troopers continued to chase him on foot, eventually tackling him.
A half-dozen troopers and a K-9 were shown around Herrington as they took him into custody.
State police said Herrington was taken to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries before being placed in the Grundy County Jail. He will be transferred to the Cook County Jail in Chicago on charges of fleeing to elude a peace officer, resisting/obstructing a police officer and possession of a stolen motor vehicle, according to state police.
Herrington was the only person in the ambulance when it was stolen and during the chase, according to CBS News.
“We wish to thank the Chicago Police Department, Illinois State Police, and supporting suburban departments for their professionalism and patience in recovering CFD ambulance 66,” Chicago Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt said in a statement to CBS News. “These officers were able to secure the ambulance and get the young man the help he needs without serious injury to himself or members of the public.”
The fire department did not say how Herrington managed to get in the ambulance and start the vehicle.