MD Man Steals Truck, Crashes Arlington Ambulance Into 13 Vehicles

ARLINGTON, VA — A Maryland man who stole a large truck and an ambulance left a trail of destruction from Rosslyn to Crystal City in Arlington and in Washington, D.C. on Saturday afternoon, as he plowed into several vehicles, according to police.

The suspect, Darell T. Caldwell, 30, of Brandywine, Maryland, faces both federal and local charges. State police charges are still pending, according to the Virginia State Police.

At 3:40 p.m. on Saturday, Virginia State Police responded to a two-vehicle crash in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 66 in Rosslyn. The truck that caused the crash had been stolen by Caldwell in Falls Church, according to police.

The driver of the other vehicle in the Rosslyn crash was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Caldwell fled the crash in Rosslyn and a few minutes later, police responded to a multi-vehicle crash in the northbound lanes of I-395 near Exit 10 in the Crystal City area. The crash was caused by the same stolen truck that Caldwell was driving, police said. Five people were taken to a nearby hospital for injuries caused by the truck.

After crashing the truck into a barrier along I-395, Caldwell fled the crash scene on foot, police said.

Minutes later, Virginia State Police received a report of a crash on the George Washington Memorial Parkway involving another truck being driven by Caldwell that was driving the wrong way when it struck another vehicle.

An Arlington County Fire Department ambulance responding to the I-395 crashes came upon the crash on the George Washington Parkway. The ambulance stopped, and the medics got out to help the drivers. While the medics were helping a driver, Caldwell ran up to the ambulance and drove off in it.

Firefighters tried to pull the suspect out of the ambulance, but he was able to drive off in the stolen ambulance, ARLnow reported.

The medics waved down a state trooper who was responding to the crash scenes to alert him to the stolen ambulance. The trooper caught up to the stolen ambulance. When the ambulance refused to stop for the trooper, a police chase began. At one point, the ambulance stopped in the road. As the trooper was getting out of his patrol car, Caldwell put the ambulance in reverse and rammed the police car, according to police.

With the help of the Arlington County Police Department, the Virginia State Police continued chasing the stolen ambulance. Caldwell then drove the stolen ambulance onto the I-395 Express Lanes and then crossed the 14th Street Bridge into Washington, D.C., where he drove the ambulance into a parked vehicle at 14th Street NW and D Street NW.

Virginia State police and Arlington County Police took Caldwell into custody without further incident, police said. He was taken to a nearby hospital for medical evaluation.

A person inside the parked vehicle in D.C. suffered minor injuries, according to police.

The state police said they are investigating 13 hit-and-run crashes committed by Caldwell while he was driving the stolen ambulance. State police have not received any reports of serious injuries from the crashes.

No police officers were injured by Caldwell, police said.

The crashes on northbound I-395 occurred between Crystal City and the 14th Street Bridge, Dave Statter of STATer911 reported.

Shortly after 5 p.m., the Virginia Department of Transportation said northbound I-395 was blocked at the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Traffic was detoured onto southbound George Washington Parkway.

Also, due to the multiple traffic collisions on I-395 northbound, officials closed Army Navy Dr. at S. Eads St. heading toward the northbound I-395 ramp in Arlington. At around 6:15 p.m., the northbound ramp onto I-395 had reopened.

The Virginia State Police is encouraging anyone who was struck by the stolen ambulance to call police at 703-803-0026.