HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Officials are searching for a suspect after they claim he carjacked an emergency response vehicle on March 22.
The Florida Highway Patrol said around 2 a.m., they received reports from an American Medical Response (AMR) supervisor, 38, who said he found a pickup truck, later determined to be stolen, that crashed on the southbound I-75 exit ramp to westbound I-4.
The supervisor encountered one man who immediately fled down the road embankment before he saw another man standing in the road.
FHP said the man then jumped on the side of the AMR Chevy Tahoe and climbed into the vehicle. The supervisor was able to open the door and escape without injury as the man drove off with the Tahoe.
After stealing the Tahoe, the suspect sideswiped a Nissan Altima further along the ramp, resulting in a minor crash, according to officials.
FHP said the suspect then continued to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, where he was spotted by Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies. The deputies started to chase him but eventually lost sight.
Later, the Tahoe's in-car camera system alerted AMR staff of a crash that occurred around 2:09 a.m., and it took photos of the suspect in the vehicle.
The Tahoe was then found at 3720 Martin Luther King Boulevard, crashed and abandoned inside a fenced-in grass lot.
Anyone with information regarding this incident or the identity of the carjacking suspect should call *FHP (*347) or Crime Stoppers at **TIPS.
