A stolen Fort Worth ambulance led multiple law enforcement agencies on a roughly 190-mile pursuit into Austin Thursday morning before the suspect crashed and was fatally shot by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, authorities said.<\/p>\n
The ambulance was reported<\/a> stolen Wednesday night from Fort Worth Fire Department Station 4 in the 2900 block of Old Mansfield Road<\/a>. The vehicle was spotted<\/a> around 6:30 a.m. Thursday traveling on I-35 in Williamson County.<\/p>\n Texas State Troopers attempted to pull over the ambulance, but the driver refused to stop, prompting a pursuit. Troopers attempted<\/a> to stop the ambulance by performing a PIT maneuver, but those attempts were unsuccessful, according to DPS.<\/p>\n The vehicle continued<\/a> south on Interstate 35 before coming to an end on the upper deck near central Austin. DPS said the suspect began intentionally ramming multiple vehicles during the pursuit.<\/p>\n The suspect was shot during the incident and later pronounced dead. Authorities had not released the person’s identity as of Thursday morning.<\/p>\n The incident prompted the closure of a large stretch of southbound I-35. Austin police said<\/a> the upper deck was closed because of an active law enforcement incident involving DPS. The Texas Department of Transportation said<\/a> all southbound lanes from U.S. 183 to Airport Boulevard were closed, including both the upper and lower decks.<\/p>\n Drivers were urged to avoid the area and use alternate routes. The roadway was expected to remain closed for several hours while investigators processed the scene.<\/p>\n