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Troopers looking for person who carjacked a medical response SUV before crashing it, FHP says

The crash happened just after 2 a.m. Friday.

TAMPA, Fla. — Florida troopers are looking for a man who they say carjacked an American Medical Response rescue vehicle before crashing it early Friday morning.

An AMR supervisor contacted the Florida Highway Patrol around 2 a.m. to report that he had come across a pickup truck that had crashed on the southbound Interstate 75 exit ramp to I-4, according to an FHP news release.

Authorities said the truck was found to have been stolen.

The supervisor noticed a man who promptly ran off, followed by another man standing on the road. It was at this moment the man jumped to the side of the AMR vehicle, a Chevy Tahoe, and got inside before taking off, troopers said. The supervisor was able to get out of the car without injury, they added.

The alleged carjacker sideswiped another car on the I-75 ramp and continued to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. A Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputy then gave chase but lost sight, according to FHP.

AMR staff were alerted around 2:09 a.m. that the Tahoe was involved in a crash near the area of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and North 39th Street in Tampa. It was found abandoned in a fenced-in grassy lot.

Credit: Florida Highway Patrol
FHP shared a photo of the AMR rescue vehicle after it was found crashed in an empty lot.

FHP said a camera inside the AMR vehicle captured a photo of the suspect.

Credit: Florida Highway Patrol
FHP shared a photo they said was captured inside the AMR rescue vehicle while the suspect was driving.

Anyone with information about the crash or the man involved is asked to call the Florida Highway Patrol at *FHP or Crime Stoppers at **TIPS.

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