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A large portion of southbound I-35 was closed from U.S. 183 into the downtown area in Austin because of police activity on Thursday morning, Aug. 13, 2026, Austin police said. A Texas DPS trooper fatally shot a man who allegedly stole an ambulance in Fort Worth and drove it to Austin.<\/p>\n
TxDOT traffic camera<\/p>\n
Much remains publicly unclear about how and why a man stole an ambulance<\/a> in Fort Worth last week and drove it about 185 miles south to Austin, where a state trooper shot him to death on an interstate bridge.<\/p>\n Benjamin Collins, 26, of Fort Worth drove the ambulance, Texas Highway Patrol spokesperson Sgt. Jason Galaviz said on Monday.<\/p>\n The vehicle was stolen as early as 1:40 a.m. from Station 4, at 2954 Old Mansfield Road, according to a Fort Worth Police Department record.<\/p>\n The Fort Worth Fire Department has not responded to a reporter\u2019s questions about the theft.<\/p>\n The Star-Telegram asked the department precisely where the ambulance was when it was stolen, what time it was stolen and what time it became clear to a Fire Department employee that it had been stolen.<\/p>\n The newspaper also asked in what way the suspect entered and operated the ambulance, whether it was locked at the time it was stolen and about GPS tracking.<\/p>\n A Fort Worth Professional Firefighters Association spokesperson said on Friday that the association had not been made aware of any disciplinary action the department had taken against the union\u2019s members.<\/p>\n In response to questions about the theft, a Fort Worth police spokesperson directed a reporter to submit an open records request.<\/p>\n As troopers chased Collins on Interstate 35 on Thursday morning, he rammed the ambulance into vehicles, Galaviz said. The trooper shot Collins on the upper deck of I-35. Collins died at the scene.<\/p>\n The Texas Department of Public Safety was notified about 6:30 a.m. that the ambulance was in Williamson County and headed south on I-35, Galaviz said.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n
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