Watch: Stolen Ambulance Chase On Freeway, Shirtless Patient Arrested

A patient stole an ambulance and led the police on an hour and a half chase, from Lake Elsinore to Hesperia, California, on Sunday.

According to the Inland California Highway Patrol, law enforcement officers were alerted to the stolen ambulance driving southbound on the 15 Freeway in Lake Elsinore around 3:30 p.m. local time (6:30 p.m. EST) after getting a call from the paramedics from Mission Ambulance which belonged to Temecula Valley Hospital, NBC Los Angeles reported.

Apparently, the man was being transported from Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar, when he broke free of his restraints and got into a scuffle with two paramedics inside the ambulance, the Mission Ambulance dispatcher Amanda Coria, said. In the process, one of the paramedics received a cut on her hand. The man eventually then took the wheel and drove away, local news outlet My Valley News reported.

Soon after the police began chasing the stolen vehicle, the suspect drove it off the southbound lane on the freeway and back onto northbound lanes. Around 4.15 p.m. (7:15 p.m. EST), newschoppers arrived in the area and was able to the capture the action as the ambulance continued to race on the 15 Freeway as it passed the 210 Freeway and Rancho Cucamunga area.

Here are the footages of the incident:

The chase concluded after authorities laid down spike strips near the intersection of Mesa Street and Mariposa road on the 15 Freeway, in Hesperia. Without attempting to park the vehicle, a shirtless suspect could be seen getting out of the vehicle and fleeing from the scene through the desert scrub on foot.

An officer ran after the suspect. The chase was a long and exhausting one as both the suspect and the policeman would be seen gasping for breath at times and even slowing down to a walk during the chase. Finally, at around 5 p.m. local time (8 p.m. EST) the suspect surrendered and was taken into custody. The unidentified patient could be seen lying face-down on the dirt as he was being handcuffed.

It is unclear as to why the patient was being restraint at the hospital prior to the alleged theft. According to Los Angeles Times, none of the paramedics were at the medical facility when the incident happened.