Teen crashes stolen car in SLO, flees ambulance
Registered owner said ex-boyfriend stole the car after assaulting her
– San Luis Obispo police responded just after 1 a.m. on April 7 to assist the California Highway Patrol near the intersection of Marsh and Higuera streets.
Highway patrol officers had come upon a single vehicle with extensive damage but no driver in or around the car. Officers found evidence along Higuera Street consistent with a vehicle traveling northbound against the one-way flow of traffic and potentially rolling over after striking a utility pole. An open bottle of vodka was found on the dashboard.
Through further investigation, officers located the car’s registered owner, who said her ex-boyfriend had stolen the vehicle after physically assaulting her.
A Chevron employee at Marsh and Higuera told officers a visibly intoxicated male had entered the station and provided a description. Shortly after, dispatch received a call about a suspicious person matching that description inside Avila Senior Living on Marsh Street. Officers detained the male, who was 17 years old and heavily intoxicated. He acknowledged he had been driving the car and crashed it.
Emergency medical services were called to transport the male to the hospital for evaluation. While in the parked ambulance, he jumped out and fled. Officers apprehended him again and transported him to the hospital, where he continued to attempt to flee and was abusive toward hospital staff and officers.
After being medically cleared, the male was transported to the Juvenile Services Center, where he was booked on three felony charges — grand theft of an automobile, corporal injury, and vehicle theft — and three misdemeanor charges: driving under the influence, hit and run, and resisting arrest.
