Seattle police arrested a 28-year-old man after he escaped from an ambulance, stole a car, and ran from police.
On August 4th, 2026 around 7:16 a.m., police found a shirtless man running through heavy traffic near 4th Avenue South and South Holgate Street. The man appeared to be in some kind of crisis, so officers sent him to the hospital due to safety concerns.
While heading to the hospital, the man escaped from the ambulance near 4th Avenue South and South Jackson St. Soon after escaping, he stole a woman’s car just as she was parking it.
Officers used the vehicle’s tracking system to find it near South Grand Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way South after it hit a parked vehicle. The suspect ran from the vehicle, leading police on a chase until he was caught and arrested.
Real Time Crime Center analysts notified officers that the suspect had been driving the stolen car into oncoming traffic at a high rate of speed and hanging out of the vehicle.
The 28-year-old man was booked into King County Jail for stealing the car, driving recklessly, and hit and run.
Incident: 2026-228684 / West Precinct