What started off as a domestic disturbance call ended in a pantless, shirtless man hijacking an ambulance and getting shot by police as he weaved through the streets of Philadelphia in a wild chase Friday night.
The suspect was chased for more than an hour by dozens of police cruisers, evading them in numerous close calls and crashing into other vehicles along the way. The man, in his 40s, initially stole the ambulance at the scene of a domestic disturbance incident on Roosevelt Boulevard, Philadelphia Police Department Capt. Sekou Kinebrew said.
The chase began shortly after 9 p.m. and finally ended in Northeast Philadelphia after he evaded officers throughout numerous neighborhoods there. During that time, he drove along some of the city's busiest streets, including the boulevard, Cottman Avenue and Frankford Avenue.
NBC10's SkyForce helicopter captured much of the chase on video.
At one point, the suspect drove the ambulance through a gas station, squeezed through several police cruisers and slammed into another vehicle before again making a getaway down Frankford Avenue. Kinebrew said the man struck two police cruisers, with officers suffering no-life threatening injuries.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Police shot him twice in the left leg and once in the abdomen along the way, Kinebrew said.
He also stopped another time and appeared eager to end the chase. As police officers approached, he opened the door, but a second later, the suspect closed the door and drove off again.
He was arrested at Walnut Lane and Tolbut Street in the Rhawnhurst neighborhood. The suspect was shirtless and appeared to be wearing only underwear.
