1/16/23 San Francisco, CA – Thief Jumps In Unoccupied Ambulance – Chased By CHP – Ambulance Abandoned In Oakland – Suspect Fled On Foot

A thief took off in a stolen ambulance in San Francisco on Monday evening and drove it all over the Bay Area before abandoning it, the California Highway Patrol has confirmed.

The chase passed through San Francisco, San Mateo and into Oakland before authorities lost the suspect, CHP said.

The unidentified suspect hopped into the unoccupied ambulance around 7 p.m. near 47th Avenue and Irving Street in the Outer Sunset and drove off.

An SFPD Taraval unit tried to stop the ambulance near 19th Avenue, San Francisco police said but the suspect headed onto Interstate 280.

The California Highway Patrol took over the pursuit as the ambulance headed south on I-280. The suspect then took the vehicle onto eastbound Highway 92, where it crossed the San Mateo Bridge, still with the CHP in pursuit.

From there the stolen vehicle got on Interstate 880 north and eventually exited at High Street in Oakland, traversing several streets before stopping at E. 12th Street and 17th Avenue, where the suspect abandoned the ambulance and fled on foot.

According to SFPD deputy chief Raj Vaswani, the suspect was not immediately located and the investigation was ongoing.