Trooper Kills Driver of Stolen Fort Worth Ambulance
Trooper Kills Driver of Stolen Fort Worth Ambulance
The News
A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper shot and killed the driver of a stolen Fort Worth Fire/EMS ambulance Thursday morning after the driver led law enforcement on a chase down Interstate 35 in Austin.
DPS said the driver intentionally rammed other vehicles during the pursuit.
The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities have not released the driver's identity.
The shooting shut the southbound upper deck of I-35 through Austin for hours, choking one of the city's main commuter routes.
Timeline
DPS troopers were first notified that the Fort Worth Fire/EMS ambulance had been stolen in North Texas.
The driver intentionally rammed multiple civilian vehicles near U.S. Highway 290, according to DPS.
to stop the ambulance. DPS said the driver kept evading and kept ramming vehicles.
A trooper shot the driver, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Austin Police Department first described the scene as an active law enforcement incident, then said the highway would be closed from U.S. 183 into downtown Austin.
Reactions
DPS confirmed the fatal shooting and said the suspect was shot and killed after intentionally driving the ambulance into other vehicles.
Austin police handled the road closure and initially gave the public little more than a warning about an active law enforcement incident, later expanding the closure notice as the investigation grew.
Fort Worth Fire/EMS, which owned the ambulance, has not publicly explained how the vehicle was taken.
What's Next
The Texas Rangers are investigating the officer-involved shooting — the standard practice for DPS shootings in Texas.
The southbound upper deck of I-35 was to stay closed until investigators finish at the scene.
Key questions still open: who the driver was, where and how the ambulance was stolen in Fort Worth, what set off the ramming, and whether DPS will release dash or body camera footage of the shooting.
More
The chase covered the roughly 190-mile corridor between North Texas and the state capital before ending on the elevated deck of I-35 near downtown Austin — a stretch that carries heavy morning traffic and has no shoulder for drivers to escape a vehicle bearing down on them.
Reporting from USA Today, The National Desk, KXAN Austin, WFAA Dallas and KHOU 11 Houston.
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