Man accused of stealing ambulance with patient inside, causing crash
By Nick Lentz
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Michigan (WWJ) — A 33-year-old man has been accused of stealing an ambulance with a paramedic treating a patient inside and causing a crash in Northville Township, Michigan, on Friday.
Police in Novi, Michigan, said officers responded to a one-vehicle rollover crash at the intersection of Novi and 10 Mile roads, around 3:15 p.m. The driver was brought into the back of a Medstar ambulance for treatment.
A first responder at the scene “yelled out” that a man, later identified by police as Changlin Li of Novi, Michigan, was stealing the ambulance.
According to police, officers then chased Li, who drove over 70 mph at times, traveled through a construction zone with workers and blew a tire. He “disregarded a traffic signal” at the intersection of Eight Mile and Beck roads in Northville Township, causing a motorist in a GMC Yukon to collide with the ambulance, officials said.
A 72-year-old Plymouth, Michigan, man driving the GMC was taken to the hospital with a dislocated shoulder and broken ribs.
Li was taken into custody after trying to run from the scene and attempting to take an officer’s gun from their holster, according to police. Law enforcement found a knife on him and seized it as evidence.
Police said Li was taken to the hospital, where he again attempted to take a gun from an officer’s holster.
According to Novi Police Chief Erick Zinser, Li is charged with one count of carjacking, one count of fleeing and eluding, two counts of assaulting, resisting and obstructing police, two counts of attempting to disarm a police officer and one count of carrying a concealed weapon.
A judge set Li’s bond at $5 million. His next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 3.
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