NOVI, Mich. (WXYZ) — A crash call in Novi turned into something police say they’ve never seen before: a suspect hijacking an ambulance with a paramedic and patient inside.
7 News Detroit obtained the dash camera video from the Friday afternoon incident that started at the intersection of 10 Mile and Novi roads.
Watch Faraz Javed's video report below:
It was something that Novi Police Chief Erick Zinser says he has not seen in his 34 years in law enforcement.
Police say the at-fault driver is 33-year-old Changlin Li.
Once officers arrived, Li was not present at the crash scene, but an ambulance was called for the other driver who had a leg injury.
Watch the dashcam video below:
The ambulance arrived at 3:21 p.m. and took position southbound on Novi Road.
Video shows Li return to the scene checking out his vehicle and taking pictures of the crash site. Three minutes later, he becomes the suspect, leaving first responders and officers stunned.
“I think it took them a minute to process it,” Zinser said.
A chase began with Li driving the ambulance at over 70 mph southbound on Novi Road while a paramedic was treating a patient in the back.
The ambulance entered a road construction site after smashing through the barriers.
“The road is actually closed to traffic …” Zinser said. “You see the cloud of dust. That's from the ambulance.”
Li was able to dodge all the construction vehicles.
“I think it's important to say that normally, we would not allow a pursuit to continue like this. We had no idea what the intention of the suspect was. And the decision, considering all of the factors, also including the other inherent dangers that are that come with pursuits, the decision was to allow the pursuit to continue,” Zinser said.
Near 8 Mile and Beck roads, the ambulance blew a rear tire, swerved around a gravel hauler and crashed into another driver. Li jumped out of the ambulance, and a struggle ensued.
“They are trying to get him into handcuffs and he's very, very uncooperative. And at some point here, it's hard to see, he's already reached for the officer's handgun. So, he's (officer) delivering two knee strikes, as trained, to try to get him into handcuffs. Neither the officers or the suspect were injured during this whole thing,” Zinser said.
Watch our previous report about the incident below:
The paramedic and patient were rescued just before the ambulance caught fire. The 72-year-old driver in this crash walked away with broken ribs and a shoulder injury.
“This is not something that you see every day. This could have been much, much worse,” Zinser said.
Li was charged Saturday with seven felony counts, including car jacking and fleeing police. He was issued a $5 million bond cash surety, no 10%.
Li’s housemate spoke to us off camera and said that he believes Li suffers from mental health issues, and that’s another reason why Li’s long guns were confiscated by the police over the weekend.
Li is scheduled to be back in court on Nov. 3.
