NOVI, MI — A Novi man has been charged after stealing an ambulance with a patient inside and causing a crash in Oakland County last Friday, according to news reports.
Changlin Li, 33, was charged with carjacking, 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.
He was placed in jail and given a $2 million bond. His next court date is scheduled for Nov. 5.
Medical officials initially responded to a crash that happened at 3:25 p.m. Friday in the 24000 block of Novi Road in Novi, according to Medstar Ambulance.
Officials said medical personnel were treating multiple people, including Li, who were injured in the crash.
That’s when Li jumped into the ambulance and sped away from the scene with a paramedic and a patient in the back, officials said.
Li drove over 70 miles per hour at times and sped through a construction zone with workers before blowing a tire, officials said.
He then sped through a red light at the intersection of 8 Mile and Beck roads in Northville Township and slammed into a GMC Yukon, officials said.
After the crash, Li tried to run away and take an officer’s gun, but was eventually arrested, officials said.
Li, and the paramedic and patient who in the ambulance, were taken to a nearby hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.
The driver of the GMC, a 72-year-old Plymouth man, was also taken to the hospital with a dislocated shoulder and broken ribs, officials said.
While at the hospital, officials said Li tried again to take a gun from an officer’s holster.
Officials said the ambulance involved in the crash was a total loss.
“We are grateful for the safety of our crew, the response of our partner agencies, and the bystanders who helped,” said Kolby Miller, Medstar’s CEO, in a statement. “We are working with Novi and Northville Police Departments in the investigation.”